Days after announcing the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme, the Maharashtra government has formed a seven-member committee to finalise the benefits to farmers with a crop loan of more than ₹2 lakh as well as to those who pay loan installments regularly.
Deputy Chief Minister and Finance minister Ajit Pawar will head the committee while Principal Secretary (Cooperation) will be the member secretary. The members are Eknath Shinde (Urban Development Department Minister), Balasaheb Thorat (Revenue Minister), Ashok Chavan (Public Works Department Minister), Dadaji Bhuse (Agriculture Minister) and Balasaheb Patil (Cooperation Minister).
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, while announcing the crop loan waiver scheme in the Maharashtra Assembly in Nagpur, had declared that a special incentive scheme for those with crop loans above ₹2 lakh and those who regularly pay installments will be in place. The CM made the statement after the State government published the rules and regulations of the crop loan waiver scheme.
Several farmer organisations and leaders had expressed displeasure over the scheme and demanded amendments. The government, however, stuck to its original plan and said the new measures will soon be announced.
“The committee will study all the details about past loan waivers and suggest incentives. The cabinet sub-committee will submit its report within a month,” said an official from the cooperation department.
A week ago, Mr. Thackeray held a meeting with State-level bankers’ committee on crop loan waiver. The government has begun preparations to ensure all farm loan accounts are connected with Aadhar. It had said that unlike the previous government, no farmer will have to go to the government office in an attempt to prove his identity; nor will he need to fill a form.
