Mumbai, Nov 26 (NationPress) As the local body elections unfold, the Maharashtra government has taken a significant step to provide essential support to farmers adversely affected by the recent torrential rains and floods. On Wednesday, it proclaimed a one-year stay on crop loan recovery and initiated the restructuring of agriculture-related debts.

The government issued a formal government resolution (GR) pertaining to this matter.

According to a government circular released today, severe flooding occurred during the monsoon season (June-September), leading to considerable destruction of crops, farmland, livestock, human lives, structural failures, and the displacement of numerous villagers. The government has unveiled two main relief measures for farmers in targeted talukas, which include the restructuring of cooperative loans and the postponement of loan recovery,” the release stated.

The resolution indicates that short-term agricultural loans will be converted into medium-term loans to alleviate the repayment pressure on farmers. Moreover, the collection of agriculture-related loans has been put on hold for a year.

The State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Limited, Mumbai, and District Central Cooperative Banks have been instructed to take the necessary steps to enact these measures across all affected villages within the designated talukas. The Cooperation Commissioner and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Maharashtra State, Pune, will oversee the strict enforcement of these relief initiatives,” the government resolution noted.

This resolution comes at a time when opposition parties are pressing for a crop loan waiver, as pledged by the MahaYuti alliance during last year's state assembly elections.

A committee led by the Chief Minister’s Chief Economic Advisor has already been formed to propose both short- and long-term strategies aimed at preventing farmers from falling into a debt trap.

Fadnavis announced that the government will reach a decision regarding the crop loan waiver by June 30 of the following year.

Previously, Fadnavis mentioned that the state government had set up a committee to establish the criteria for the farm loan waiver, which will be executed based on their recommendations.

“Once the committee submits its report, it will be implemented within three months. The committee will also propose both short- and long-term solutions to alleviate the challenges and address financial distress in the agricultural sector,” he remarked.