Farmers’ March: Over 30,000 Farmers March Towards Mumbai, Demand Loan Waiver – Bloomberg Quint

Over 30,000 farmers from across Maharashtra will hit the streets of Mumbai, on Monday, 12 March, demanding proper implementation of the Maharashtra government’s loan waiver scheme.

They are all set to protest outside the state Assembly in Mumbai on Monday morning.

The Mumbai traffic police have already begun issuing traffic diversion plans, as the financial capital of India braces itself for over 30,000 farmers who are marching towards the city on Monday, 12 March. Hailing from Maharashtra’s most farmer suicide-prone districts, the group has been walking for four days, intending to cover 180 kilometres on foot from Nashik to Mumbai to convey their demands to the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government.

Proper implementation of the loan waiver scheme and implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission – these are the key demands of the farmers.

The farmers, who will reach Thane on Saturday, 10 March, are planning to arrive in Mumbai on Monday and ‘gherao’ the Maharashtra Assembly. The number of protesters is likely to swell by the time the group reaches Mumbai.

But what prompted them to hit the roads now? This is definitely not an overnight phenomenon.

After facing droughts for four consecutive years and subsequent crop failure, farmers across Marathwada and Vidarbha region turned to the state government to waive their loans. Forced to budge under pressure from farmers’ groups and the Opposition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a historic loan waiver in June 2017 under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana.

At the time of the announcement, the chief minister had claimed that Rs 34,020 crores would be allocated for the scheme. Not all farmers were eligible for full loan waiver. Those eligible to avail the scheme were clubbed into three categories –

1. Those who can avail full loan waiver

2. Those who were eligible to get an incentive amount

3. Those eligible for a one-time settlement

With the Central government refusing to lend a helping hand, the entire cost has to be borne by the state government. As of 6 March, Rs 13,782 crore have been handed out as loan waivers to 35.68 lakh farmers. At the time of announcement, 89 lakh farmers were expected to benefit from the scheme.

While farmers lashed out against the delay in implementing the loan waiver scheme and the many conditions placed on the beneficiaries, the Opposition too criticised the Fadnavis-led BJP government over the issue.

The 30,000 protesters have reached Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday, 10 March, after they left from Nashik on Wednesday.

The protesting farmers are likely to reach Mumbai at 10 am on 12 March.