The immediate worry is: will farmers with unpaid loans get fresh crop loans if the scheme is delayed? If they are denied bank loans, more likely than not, their only recourse will be private lenders, who will charge usurious rates of interest.
“Banks still don’t have clarity about the rules, because there are myriad eligibility conditions,” says Nitin Khadse, a cotton farmer in Jalka, Yavatmal. “Our worry is that unless old loans are settled, we won’t get new loans for the coming season.”
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The latest Karjmukti Yojana provides for a waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh per farmer for short-term crop loans. To qualify, the loan must have been disbursed between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2025, remained overdue on 30 September 2025, and…