Farm loan waiver issue: Rohit Pawar ends hunger strike after govt assurance

NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday ended his indefinite hunger strike over the Maharashtra governments farm loan waiver scheme after receiving an assurance from state minister Girish Mahajan that the concerns raised by farmers would be discussed with the government before the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislaturePawar who represents the KarjatJamkhed constituency and is the grandnephew of NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar had launched the agitation in Pandharpur on Friday He was demanding the removal of what he described as restrictive conditions in the recently announced farm loan waiver scheme and had also called for broader relief measures for farmersGovernment assures discussion before legislature sessionMahajan met Pawar in Pandharpur shortly after midnight on Monday and urged him to withdraw the protest The minister said the state government was willing to examine the concerns raised by farmers and discuss possible changes to the scheme lsquo rsquo hellip pictwittercomRmmD1deg0qmdash Rohit Pawar RRPSpeaks June 15 2026According to Mahajan a meeting will be convened in Mumbai before the start of the monsoon session where Pawar and farmer representatives will be able to present their concerns He also said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured that the matter would be considered and a positive resolution would be exploredThe monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature is scheduled to begin on June 22Pawar says dialogue is preferable to prolonged agitationResponding to the governments assurance Rohit Pawar said there was little benefit in continuing the agitation if the government was prepared to hold discussions on the issueHe said extending the protest unnecessarily could deepen political divisions and distract from the interests of farmers Pawar added that discussions with the government would continue and that efforts would be focused on removing the two conditions in the loan waiver scheme that farmers groups have objected toBefore formally ending the fast Pawar sought the opinion of farmers gathered at the protest site on whether talks with the state government should proceed The proposal received support from those presentFast ends at Pandharpur templeFollowing the announcement Pawar ended his hunger strike in the presence of family members and farmers He later visited the VitthalRukmini Temple in Pandharpur and broke his fast near the sacred Sant Namdev step located at the main entrance of the temple complexThe site is associated with Sant Namdev the 13thcentury saintpoet whose samadhi is believed to be located thereDetails of Maharashtras farm loan waiver schemeThe Maharashtra cabinet on June 2 approved a farm loan waiver package worth Rs 36585 crore which is expected to benefit nearly 56 lakh farmers across the stateThe scheme offers loan waivers of up to Rs 2 lakh and consists of three components mdash loan waiver onetime settlement OTS and incentive benefits The government has stated that there will be no landholding criterion for eligibilityUnder the loan waiver component farmers with outstanding shortterm crop loans of up to Rs 2 lakh including principal and interest will receive complete debt relief Eligible loans must have been disbursed between April 1 2019 and March 31 2025 remained overdue as of September 30 2025 and remained unpaid until March 31 2026Onetime settlement for higher loan amountsFarmers with outstanding dues exceeding Rs 2 lakh will be covered under the onetime settlement component Borrowers in this category will be required to repay the amount exceeding Rs 2 lakh to become eligible for a waiver of up to Rs 2 lakhThe state government has set March 31 2027 as the deadline for eligible farmers to deposit their share of the outstanding loan amount under the OTS mechanismThe outcome of the proposed discussions between the government and farmer representatives is likely to be closely watched as farmer organisations continue to seek modifications to the eligibility conditions of the scheme