While the government has temporarily halted loan recovery, this relief cannot be stretched for years or indefinitely—unless banks are officially asked to restructure loans or defer recovery for a longer period. Farmers will soon have to start repaying their credit or risk being tagged as defaulters. This would mean the doors to fresh loans will be closed.
Without access to new credit, many farmers will struggle to buy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides needed for the upcoming crop. In such a scenario, there will be no sowing, no harvest, and consequently, no income. The farming community, already reeling under a severe crisis, will be pushed into further debt and deeper trouble.
This clearly underscores the urgent need for immediate relief so that farmers can get back on their feet. A loan waiver has become a survival necessity for two main reasons: one, because recent rains have washed away crops; and two, because the ruling Mahayuti alliance—which includes the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-headed NCP—promised during the 2024 assembly campaign to wipe out all farmers’ loan debts.
More than eight months after being voted to power, this alliance has so far delayed implementing the loan waiver. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Shinde and Pawar keep reiterating that they have not forgotten their promise and that the waiver will happen at the right time—which, so far, does not seem to have arrived.
In the current crisis of wet drought, a loan waiver as promised would indeed be timely. However, many experts believe that a loan waiver may not offer immediate or long-term relief. In reality, such waivers primarily benefit banks by helping financial institutions recover dues directly. This does not address the underlying issue of farm distress as it fails to put fresh capital directly into farmers’ hands—money they desperately need for the upcoming crop cycle, which is sown in winter and harvested in March and April. Without this financial support, the cycle of distress is bound to continue.
Another major challenge is the unpredictability of the weather. Climate change has made farming increasingly risky, with delayed, excessive, or dry monsoon spells wreaking havoc on crop yields. State government records reveal that over the past nine years, 519 lakh hectares of farmland across Maharashtra have been damaged due to unseasonal rain. During a recent visit to flood-affected areas in Marathwada and Solapur, Chief Minister Fadnavis himself acknowledged that climate change is taking a severe toll on the agricultural sector.
Loan waivers are not new to Indian politics. Back in 2008, the UPA government announced a nationwide loan waiver scheme that reportedly benefitted 70 lakh farmers in Maharashtra. Later, in 2017, then-Chief Minister Fadnavis launched a ₹34,000 crore waiver aimed at bailing out around 67 lakh indebted farmers. Two-and-a-half years later, in 2020, Uddhav Thackeray, then the Chief Minister, followed it up with another waiver.
As agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan famously warned, “If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right.” This underscores the critical need for financial support, policy reforms, and access to resources for farmers.
A well-planned, sizable financial package could indeed make a significant difference. Direct support to farmers would ensure immediate assistance to help them regain lost ground and attempt a comeback from the current crisis.
If the government fails to meet these basic requirements, the consequences could be severe: rising levels of farmer debt, increasing costs of essential commodities, and escalating vegetable prices—all contributing to higher inflation. Insufficient support may also force some farmers to migrate to cities, potentially leading to social unrest.
The human cost of this crisis is stark. While not all farmer suicides are linked to financial distress, many are. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report reveals that in 2023, 10,786 farmers and agricultural workers took their own lives. Maharashtra accounted for the highest share, with nearly 39% of these tragic deaths. In 2025 alone, 767 farmers died by suicide in the state, highlighting a deepening crisis in agriculture.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Eknath Shinde, during his Dussehra rally speech, promised farmers every possible support from the government and his party to help pull the community out of this crisis. Besides assurances, Shinde even pleaded with farmers not to take extreme steps.
For now, as interim relief, farmers are being provided with Rs 10,000 in cash along with 10 kg of rice and 10 kg of wheat. Yet, what farmers truly need is not interim aid but sizeable and timely relief to survive today, alongside comprehensive loan waiver packages to help them rebuild.
Without such measures, the vicious cycle of debt will continue, leaving farmers trapped in the same predicament and unable to change their lives for the better.
https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/you-cant-waive-a-promise-23597114