Mumbai: The committee led by MITRA CEO Praveen Pardeshi, appointed six months ago to formulate criteria for the farm loan waiver and recommend short- and long-term measures for the agrarian distress in Maharashtra, submitted its report to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday.The submission has brought the state government closer to implementing the loan waiver, which was on the Mahayuti alliance’s manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls in 2024. The report will be scrutinised by the state cooperation department and then placed before the cabinet for approval.On October 30, 2025, the state government appointed the Pardeshi-led committee following an agitation led by Prahar Janshakti leader Bachchu Kadu, demanding an implementation of the waiver.During the state budget session in March, Fadnavis told the legislative assembly that the government would provide a waiver on farm loans of up to 2 lakh till the cut-off date of September 30, 2025, and an incentive of Rs 50,000 would be given to those who pay their loans regularly. However, the final contours of the waiver would be decided only after receiving the Pardeshi committee report, the CM added.In the assembly, cooperation minister Babasaheb Patil said that nearly six lakh farmers were still awaiting benefits under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana. In his written reply, Patil stated that of the 50.6 lakh farmers found eligible under the scheme, benefits have been extended to 44.04 lakh farmers, while the process is underway to cover the remaining 6.56 lakh eligible beneficiaries.Launched in June 2017, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana promised a complete waiver of outstanding crop loans up to Rs 1.5 lakh per farmer family, including principal and interest, to ease agrarian distress.The government also provided figures for the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana, stating that 32.29 lakh of 32.42 lakh eligible farmers have received debt waiver benefits. Additionally, 14.5 lakh farmers were disbursed incentive benefits under the 2019 scheme after completing Aadhaar authentication.
