Loan waiver scheme will do injustice to 70% of Maharashtra farmers, says Rohit Pawar

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Friday (June 26, 2026) claimed that the Maharashtra Government’s farm loan waiver scheme is full of conditions and will do injustice to nearly 70% of cultivators in the State.

Talking to reporters in Nanded, Mr. Pawar warned of a large-scale agitation from June 29 if the government fails to fulfil the assurance about the ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-Mukti Yojana’.

Earlier this month, the Opposition party leader went on an indefinite hunger strike at Pandharpur in Solapur district seeking the removal of “stringent” conditions from the State government’s scheme. He subsequently called off the strike after he was assured of a meeting to discuss the issues.

He said, “The loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra state government is full of conditions. It will do an injustice to nearly 70% of farmers in the State. If the government cannot fulfil the word given in the land of Pandharpur, we will have to undertake agitation and take to the streets. We will commence a huge agitation in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar from June 29 onwards.”

On June 2, the State cabinet approved a ₹36,585 crore farm loan waiver scheme, which is expected to benefit nearly 56 lakh cultivators. The scheme provides farm loan waiver of up to ₹2 lakh. It has three components — loan waiver, one-time settlement (OTS) and incentive benefits — and there will be no landholding criterion for eligibility.

Under the waiver component, farmers whose total outstanding short-term crop loans, including principal and interest, are up to ₹2 lakh will be eligible for complete debt relief. The loans must have been disbursed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, remained overdue as of September 30, 2025, and remained unpaid till March 31, 2026.

Mr. Pawar also condemned the objectionable remarks made by Lok Sabha member Sanjay Dina Patil, one of the six rebel Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who joined the ruling Shiv Sena, against journalists.

“It is extremely important for any leader to have control over words. Any leader, whether he is in the media limelight or not, should mind his words,” he said.

Mr. Patil, on Thursday (june 25), hurled expletives at journalists and threatened them, only to express regret later after facing a backlash and media boycott.