813 Mumbai farmers among loan waiver beneficiaries surprises CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra CM has ordered a scrutiny before sanctioning the waivers

Mumbai city and its suburbs are home to as many as 813 farmers on loan waiver list, a figure which has "surprised" Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who has ordered a scrutiny before sanctioning the waivers.

These farmers figure in the list of probable beneficiaries eligible for benefits under the Rs 34,000-crore loan waiver scheme announced by the state government last month.

The Mumbai city and its suburbs are urbanised areas, leaving little scope for farming activity in the country's commercial nerve centre.

A district-wise list of beneficiary-farmers, released by the chief minister on Twitter last evening, includes names of 694 cultivators from the Mumbai city and 119 from its suburbs.

A majority of beneficiaries are from suicide-prone districts like Yavatmal, Buldhana and Amravati, all located in Vidarbha region.

As per the scheme, all the eligible farmers will get benefit of waiver of up to Rs 1.50 lakh loan outstanding till June 30, 2016.

Talking to reporters today, Fadnavis said, "Even I was surprised to find these two cities in the list. The 'beneficiary' farmers from these two districts would be scrutinised thoroughly before sanctioning waiver of their loans."

The chief minister said he has asked officers concerned to look into the genuineness of these farmers from the two urban centres.

The mega loan waiver was announced by the BJP-led government after a state-wide agitation by farmers in the first fortnight of June.