Over 1.80 lakh farmers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar eligible to get total loan waiver of Rs 1,632 cr

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: More than 1.80 lakh farmers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra's Marathwada region are eligible for a total loan waiver benefit of Rs 1,632.12 crore under a state government's scheme launched recently, officials said.

The loan waiver scheme -- Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana 2026 -- was launched last month.

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District Lead Bank Manager Preshit Moghe (from Bank of Maharashtra) said the eligible beneficiaries include farmers who availed crop loans from nationalised and cooperative banks in the district and meet the criteria laid down under the scheme.

Details of the eligible accounts have been uploaded on the government's portal, he said.

Aadhaar linkage for 712 eligible loan accounts is still pending from the list of 1.80 lakh eligible farmers, and the farmers concerned have been asked to immediately complete the process by contacting their respective banks, the official said.

According to the data provided by the lead bank, the highest number of eligible beneficiaries are with the District Central Cooperative Bank (56,013 accounts), followed by State Bank of India (31,515), Maharashtra Gramin Bank (35,676) and Bank of Maharashtra (26,702).

In terms of loan waiver amount, State Bank of India accounts for Rs 415.08 crore, Maharashtra Gramin Bank Rs 391 crore, Bank of Maharashtra Rs 256.02 crore and the District Central Cooperative Bank Rs 212 crore. Farmers having accounts in eight other nationalised banks are also eligible for the loan waiver.

Under the scheme, farmers who availed short-term crop loans between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2025, whose dues remained outstanding as on September 30, 2025, and who failed to repay the loans by March 31, 2026, are eligible for the loan waiver, the official said.

Under the scheme, the government will waive outstanding principal amount and interest on loan up to Rs 2 lakh per farmer, the official said.

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Farmers whose short-term crop loans were restructured into medium-term loans will also be eligible, provided the restructured instalments remained overdue as of September 30, 2025, he said, adding that beneficiaries who had earlier availed assistance under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Shetkari Karjmukti Yojana, 2019, will be eligible for a maximum waiver of Rs 50,000 under the new scheme.

For farmers whose outstanding dues exceed Rs 2 lakh, the state government will release its share of up to Rs 2 lakh under a one-time settlement (OTS) after the borrower deposits the balance amount with the lending bank, he said.