Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar has concluded his indefinite hunger strike in Pandharpur after Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan assured him that the state government would hold a meeting before June 22 to discuss farmers’ demands concerning the farm loan waiver scheme. The assurance came late Sunday evening when Mahajan visited Pawar at the protest site and held discussions, subsequently speaking with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the phone.
Pawar had launched his hunger strike on Friday, demanding a blanket farm loan waiver and the removal of certain conditions attached to the state’s recently announced debt relief scheme, the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana. He argued that these conditions would prevent a significant number of distressed farmers from accessing the benefits. The Maharashtra Cabinet had approved this scheme on June 2, 2026, with an estimated cost of Rs 36,585 crore, aiming to benefit approximately 56 lakh farmers by waiving crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh.
During his discussions with Minister Mahajan, Pawar agreed to participate in further talks with the government. However, he cautioned that farmers would launch a larger agitation in the Marathwada region if the government failed to take concrete action on their demands. According to information available with The Chenab Times, the core of Pawar’s protest stemmed from a provision that bars farmers who had availed of the 2019 loan waiver from being eligible for the current scheme. Instead, these farmers were offered a one-time payment of Rs 50,000, a condition Pawar stated would adversely affect around 3.6 million farmers in the state.
Minister Mahajan, speaking after the meeting, conveyed the government’s positive stance towards addressing farmers’ concerns and stated that a meeting with the Chief Minister would be scheduled before the monsoon session begins, expected around June 22. He emphasized that the government was sensitive to the farmers’ issues and committed to finding solutions, recalling previous farm loan waiver schemes implemented by the administration.
Rohit Pawar, addressing his supporters after announcing the suspension of his fast, indicated that the protest had been paused rather than withdrawn. He highlighted that the agitation had achieved its immediate goal of initiating a dialogue with the government. Pawar also announced the formation of a committee comprising farmer leaders and senior political representatives to participate in the upcoming government-convened meeting.
The Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Shetkari Karja-mukti Yojana, approved by the Maharashtra Cabinet, aims to provide relief to farmers with overdue short-term crop loans. Eligibility criteria include loans disbursed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2025, that remained overdue as of September 30, 2025, and were unpaid until March 31, 2026. The scheme also includes provisions for farmers with larger outstanding loans through a one-time settlement (OTS) facility, requiring them to clear the amount exceeding ₹2 lakh to become eligible for debt relief up to ₹2 lakh. The deadline for this payment is set for March 31, 2027.
The scheme also offers incentives for farmers who have maintained good repayment records. Those who repaid crop loans on time in at least two out of three financial years between FY23 and FY25 can receive an incentive grant of up to ₹50,000. The government has also considered extending benefits to farmers who were left out of earlier loan waiver schemes implemented between 2017 and 2019, adding approximately five lakh more farmers under the current Yojana with an earmarked Rs 14,000 crore. The total cost of the farm loan waiver scheme to the state exchequer is estimated at Rs 36,585 crore, covering more than 65 lakh accounts and benefiting around 58 lakh farmers.
The agitation by Rohit Pawar gained support from various farmer organizations and political leaders. Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil visited the protest site to express solidarity. However, some political figures criticized Pawar’s hunger strike, characterizing it as a publicity stunt. Despite the assurances, Pawar warned that the protest would resume if the government failed to act decisively on the farmers’ demands.
The Chenab Times News Desk