Maharashtra’s government on Monday claimed it had foregone loans of 83% of total eligible farmers under Mahatma Jyotirao Phule’s farm loan forgiveness program amounting to 17,646 crore.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the program will continue until the last farmer on the list benefits. “The remaining process needs to be implemented quickly. District collectors are required to pay more attention to completing the process, ”Thackeray said.

32.9 lakh eligible

The state government had posted a list of 32.90 lakh eligible farmers on the web portal. The program required an availability of 21,467 crore. In fiscal year 2019-2020, around 19 lakh farmers benefited from a total of 11,993 crore spent on them. In fiscal year 2020-21, approximately 5,653 crore was deposited into farmers’ accounts.

According to government data, as of July 20, a total of 27.38 lakh farmers got 17,646 crore.

According to the program, the list of eligible farmers is published at the office of the gram panchayat and at the branch level of the bank. “The accounts of the remaining 5.52 lakh farmers will be authenticated, and then their loan will be canceled,” an official from the Cooperation Department said.