Pune: Opposition leaders and farmer activists have welcomed the relaxation of certain eligibility criteria to bring more farmers under the farm loan waiver scheme but said its implementation would still be delayed as the state awaits income tax data from the Centre to finalise the list of eligible beneficiaries.The relaxation in criteria was announced by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the assembly on Friday, following repeated demands and protests by the opposition.Fadnavis told the assembly that the govt had broadened the eligibility criteria and increased the benefit cap from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh for farmers who had availed themselves of the 2019 farm loan waiver scheme.Opposition leaders, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal and farmer activists, welcomed the decision. However, some opposition members criticised the delay in implementing the scheme.State govt had initially announced that the waiver scheme would be rolled out before June 30. After missing that deadline, it said implementation would begin on July 5, but that deadline, too, was not met.NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said, “We are happy that state govt has withdrawn certain conditions against which we had staged multiple protests. However, the govt has now sought income tax data from the Centre to prepare the list of beneficiaries. It will take more time to receive the data, further delaying the implementation of the scheme. If farmers who file income tax returns are excluded from the scheme, we will be forced to launch another agitation.”Farmer activists also criticised the delay.Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder Raju Shetti said, “The kharif season has already begun, and farmers urgently need funds for agricultural operations. However, banks do not extend fresh crop loans unless previous loans are cleared. So, the govt must implement the waiver scheme immediately and settle the outstanding dues so that farmers can access fresh credit. Every delay only adds to their hardship.”
