Demand For Rs 22,000-Crore Farm Loan Waiver Continues To Stall Maharashtra Assembly
Maharashtra assembly session adjourned on the third straight day.
A farm loan waiver in Maharashtra will add a burden of Rs 22,000 crore on the state exchequer, according to an estimate prepared by the cooperation department.
The Budget session of the Maharashtra assembly was disrupted for the third straight day on Friday on the demand for a loan waiver. The Opposition and the government’s ally Shiv Sena continued to raise the demand, leading to an adjournment of both the Houses.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, reiterated that the Opposition would not allow the House to function until the government takes a decision on the matter.
On Thursday, state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had said that the government is not against a waiver but would like to wait for a conducive atmosphere.
In the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised to waive farmers’ loans in the state, if elected to power.
This led the Opposition to argue that if the BJP can make such a promise in Uttar Pradesh, there could be no reason to not follow it up in Maharashtra, where the party has been in power since 2014.
Maharashtra has been reeling under severe drought for the past three years. Last year, the state government declared drought in more than 29,000 villages, of which regions such as Vidarbha and Marathwada were the worst hit.
The prolonged drought has led to massive farmer suicides across the state. About 9,000 farmers committed suicides since 2014, the Question Hour Booklet 2017 revealed.