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Pawar pours cold water on crop loan waiver hopes, asks farmers to pay instalments in time |
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| 28-3-2025 | |||
Pune, Mar 28 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the current financial situation of the state does not allow for a crop loan waiver and asked farmers to pay instalments in time rather than wait for an announcement in this regard. Speaking at an event in Baramati here, Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio in the Devendra Fadnavis government, emphasised that "one can feign many things but not financial reality". He listed out several areas where the state government has to allocate funds, including Rs 45000 crore for the flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana under which women with an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh get Rs 1500 as monthly aid. "A crop loan waiver was promised in the poll manifesto. But today I want to tell farmers to pay the instalment of crop loans they have taken before March 31. Some farmers are not paying their loan instalments assuming the government will announce a waiver," he said. He recalled his visit to Kolhapur on Thursday and said his cabinet and party colleague Hasan Mushrif asked him there to address the issue of crop loan waiver since people were waiting for such relief. Pawar said he had presented a budget (for 2025-26) of more than Rs 7 lakh crore, which included measures like free electricity for farmers. "Thought electricity is free for you, the state government is paying the power firms. A sum of Rs 3.5 lakh crore is needed for salaries and pensions. Funds are required to pay interest on loans taken by the government. We have to allocate resources for education, books, uniforms, and road development. A sum of Rs 45,000 crore has been earmarked for Ladki Bahin scheme," he said. The state government will take a decision at the right time, he said while reiterating that the current financial situation does not allow for a crop loan waiver. "Not just for this year, farmers should also repay their crop loan instalments for the next year," he said. PTI SPK BNM Source: PTI |
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