Pune: Maharashtra agriculture minister Dattatray Bharne said on Wednesday that the state govt will take strict action against bank officials found misleading farmers over the farm loan waiver scheme.“If any bank official tries to mislead farmers over the loan amount, the govt will intervene and take action,” Bharne said.The warning comes amid several complaints from growers regarding discrepancies between the waiver amounts listed by the govt and the actual outstanding balances shown by banks.Bharne assured farmers that despite these inconsistencies, every eligible crop loan up to Rs2 lakh will be written off in full. He informed that the e-KYC process for five lakh farmers has already been completed, and the waiver amounts will be disbursed into their bank accounts shortly.The state govt has released two lists of eligible beneficiaries under the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farm loan waiver scheme, a process that covers approximately 1.6 to 1.7 million farmers. However, the rollout has been met with skepticism; while the govt specified waiver amounts in its official lists, many farmers found these figures did not match the higher outstanding balances reported by their banks. This led to fears that farmers would be forced to pay the remaining difference out of pocket.Addressing these concerns, Bharne clarified that farmers will not be held liable for any such balance. “These discrepancies are primarily seen in accounts held with nationalised banks,” Bharne said. “The state govt has held meetings with bank representatives where it was decided that once the govt releases its share of the loan waiver, any remaining difference will be borne by the respective banks.”The minister said all eligible loans under the Rs2 lakh threshold will be completely cleared, and beneficiaries will receive a ‘nil certificate,’ making them eligible for fresh agricultural loans.
