Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Monday he will take a decision on implementation of loan waiver incentive schemes after discussions with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Pawar told the state legislative assembly, “I will discuss the loan waiver scheme with the chief minister. But I can promise that two pending farmer loan waiver welfare schemes will be enforced this year and next year.”
Last year, Pawar had announced a special incentive of Rs 50,000 for farmers who had repaid their crop loans on time. The scheme was restricted to only non-defaulting farmers. But a year later, the scheme has not been implemented.
On Monday, opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in the state assembly.
“The MVA government has completely neglected farmers. Even the promised schemes under loan waiver have not been implemented…Will the government implement the farmers scheme?” Fadnavis asked.
Fadnavis said even after loan waiver, farmers did not get fresh crop loans. Pawar responded that he would look into the matter with the state-level bankers’ committee.