In a major blow to the farming community, over 20 lakh farmers in Maharashtra have been denied access to new loans after defaulting on previous borrowings. According to the latest report from the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), more than 20.37 lakh farmers have not repaid their loans, resulting in an outstanding amount of ₹31,254 crore across the state.
The data reveals that districts such as Beed, Buldhana, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, and Yavatmal each have over 1.5 lakh loan defaulters, highlighting the depth of the crisis.
Despite the official onset of the Kharif season, several banks are reportedly reluctant to issue fresh loans to defaulting farmers. While the state government had instructed banks to disregard CIBIL scores when issuing new agricultural loans, farmers claim that in practice, loan applications are still being denied based on poor credit scores.
The situation has been further complicated by the government’s pre-election loan waiver promise, which has led many farmers to defer repayments in anticipation of loan forgiveness. However, the delay in implementation has left them stranded—without loan clearance and without access to new financing. Out of 1.29 crore farmers in Maharashtra, nearly 20 lakh are currently blacklisted by banks due to non-repayment.
The loan default crisis is especially severe in 15 districts of the state, with the highest outstanding dues reported in:
Nashik – ₹2,790 crore
Solapur – ₹2,681 crore
Yavatmal – ₹2,256 crore