The relaxation will allow thousands more to be covered by the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farmers’ loan waiver scheme.

Mumbai: Amid protests, including from political circles, CM Devendra Fadnavis announced on Friday that the state govt is broadening some of the criteria of the latest farm loan waiver scheme, raising the cap from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh for those who had benefited from the 2019 scheme.The relaxation will allow thousands of farmers to be covered by the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farmers’ loan waiver scheme.Fadnavis said in the assembly that the condition requiring loan repayment in 2026-27 under the incentive component is also being done away with, saying those who repaid their loans in two of the previous three years will now be eligible.Govt had declared the latest farm loan waiver on June 2, amounting to Rs 36,585 crore. It was expected to benefit 55.7 lakh farmers, but it also drew criticism over keeping thousands of farmers out with stringent conditions. The scheme covers short-term crop loans taken between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2025 and has three components: debt waiver, one-time settlement and incentive benefits for those who have regularly serviced their loans. The waiver was among the promises on Mahayuti’s manifesto before the 2024 assembly polls.MLAs from treasury and opposition benches had sought removal of the Rs 50,000 cap. “In the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farmers’ loan waiver scheme [of 2026], we were providing waivers of up to Rs 2 lakh to those who have outstanding debts of more than Rs 2 lakh… Some MLAs met me and asked for removal of the Rs 50,000 cap for previous beneficiaries. I told them that if this condition were removed, govt will incur expenses of Rs 3,000-4000 crores. We had kept this condition to bring in discipline,” Fadnavis said.The opposition credited its protests for the relaxations. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who had led a three-day hunger strike last month demanding the withdrawal of “stringent conditions” called it a “success of our struggle”. “If a united struggle is waged on the streets, success is certain without fail—this is yet another vivid example of that! Jai Kisan! Even though govt had announced the loan waiver two months ago, the announcement made today to remove the restrictive conditions and terms from it has truly brought about the loan waiver for us,” he said in a post on X.In the assembly, CM Fadnavis hit back at MNS chief Raj Thackeray for his criticism over the 18-hour disruption of the Mumbai-Pune ‘missing link’ following a landslide. Mimicking Fadnavis, Thackeray had on Thursday questioned why raising concerns over the quality of infrastructure projects was being portrayed as an insult to Maharashtra and why seeking accountability was being labelled as politics.“He (Thackeray) is my friend. Since he is a friend, we are not in any danger from him in politics. We are happy that he is in politics. However, if he had gone into the field of mimicry, then there would have been no market for any standup comedian,” Fadnavis said. “Many people are angry after my speech in the assembly… There was that Rs 7,000 crore was washed away even though not a single crux was broken. So is this an insult to me? This is an insult to Maharashtra itself. Spreading fake news or spreading fake news is an insult to Maharashtra…”

Mumbai: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticised the implementation of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Laadki Bahin Yojana, saying it was marked by “significant deficiencies” in budget estimation, expenditure control and financial management.The CAG report released on Friday said state govt had spent over Rs 33,237.2 crore on the scheme, exceeding its budgetary provision by nearly Rs 3,541.2 crore which “remained unjustified”. It also observed that the sharp rise on women welfare schemes from Rs 261.8 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 33,554.4 crore in 2024-25, especially under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Laadki Bahin Yojana reflected a major push toward welfare-oriented transfers rather than capital formation. However, expenditure in the social sector for housing (54.7%) and water supply and sanitation (31.8%) notably decreased compared to 2023-24.Ahead of the assembly elections, the state govt launched the Laadki Bahin Yojana on June 28, 2024, allowing eligible women aged 21 to 65 to receive a financial benefit of Rs 1,500 per month through direct benefit transfer.Rising expenditure a concernMaharashtra’s economy remains one of the strongest in the country, but rising day-to-day expenditure and growing liabilities could leave the state with less money for development works and force it to borrow more in the coming years, the CAG cautioned.The audit report said the state’s strong Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth and higher-than-national per capita income provide a solid economic base. “However, the widening revenue deficit, rising committed expenditure and growing liabilities could affect the state’s long-term financial health.”The CAG said Maharashtra has remained within the borrowing and fiscal deficit limits prescribed under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, but its revenue deficit has increased sharply. With undischarged liabilities exceeding Rs 27,184 crore, both the revenue and fiscal deficits could worsen.The report said govt is increasingly borrowing to meet routine expenditure instead of creating long-term assets such as roads, schools, and hospitals. A growing share of tax revenue is being spent on salaries, pensions, interest payments and subsidies, leaving less fiscal space for infrastructure and other capital works.Salaries, pensions and interest payments together accounted for nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore, or 52% of the state’s revenue receipts in 2024-25. Although this proportion has declined from earlier years, it continues to limit fiscal flexibility. Subsidies rose 16.7% to Rs 56,089 crore, mainly due to higher electricity tariff subsidies for farmers and support for cotton, soybean and oilseed cultivation. The CAG said such expenditure should be kept fiscally sustainable.The report also flagged weaknesses in budget management, including excessive supplementary grants, departments failing to spend funds despite additional allocations, delayed surrender of savings and heavy expenditure in the final month of the financial year. Such year-end spending, it said, weakens financial discipline and legislative scrutiny.The audit also noted that Centre did not release the 15th Finance Commission grant of Rs 1,391 crore for million-plus cities in Maharashtra during 2024-25. The state has six eligible urban agglomerations where these grants are meant for air quality, drinking water and solid waste management.Poor financial reportingThe CAG also raised concerns over the quality of the state’s financial reporting, saying several accounting practices were undermining transparency and accountability. Off-budget borrowings stood at Rs 28,640 crore as of March 31, 2025. The audit also found that govt did not account for around Rs 762.5 crore in interest payable on several interest-bearing deposits, understating expenditure and overstating public account balances. Furthermore, nearly Rs 3,277.6 crore of National Pension System contributions remained parked instead of being transferred to the designated pension fund manager, contrary to Government of India guidelines.Parking of fundsThe CAG criticised govt for leaving nearly Rs 20,993.1 crore unutilised in treasury-approved Virtual Personal Deposit Accounts (VPDAs) beyond the financial year, calling it “financially imprudent” as it distorted the fiscal deficit and led to additional borrowings. The CAG said that had the unspent VPDA balance been returned to the consolidated fund on Ma-rch 31, 2025, state’s revenue deficit would have been Rs 9,001.7 crore instead of Rs 29,994.8 crore, effectively inflating the deficit by Rs 20,993.7 crore.

Residents said modifications were made to the structure over the years

Thane: A 12-year-old boy was crushed to death, while his mother and his nine-year-old brother sustained head injuries after a portion of their nearly 30-year-old one-storey tenement collapsed on them in a chawl in Thane’s Azad Nagar on Friday.The mother, Urmila Jaiswar (35), and her younger son, Vinit, were rushed to hospital and were reported to be stable.The boys—Jaykumar and Vinit—had returned home from school and were resting after lunch while Urmila was on her phone when they heard a creak. Within seconds, the ceiling collapsed, trapping the trio beneath the debris. Their father was away at work at a sweet shop.Local Shiv Sena corporator Meenakshi Shinde, who was among the first to reach the spot, said a section of the tenement’s extended cantilever balcony crashed onto the rented room occupied by the Jaiswar family. A few residents alleged that structural modifications had been carried out to the building a few years ago and some repairs were undertaken recently. The structure may not have been able to withstand the extensions and must have weakened during the rains, said residents. Civic officials said the exact cause of the collapse is under investigation.Urmila and Vinit, recovering in hospital, remained unaware of Jaykumar’s death and repeatedly asked neighbours about his condition. “We haven’t told them yet,” a neighbour said.Mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar, who visited the site and the family, directed civic officials to immediately evacuate adjoining structures as a precautionary measure and ensure that the medical expenses of the injured are borne by the civic body.The death came two days after deputy CM Eknath Shinde declared “zero tolerance” towards rain-related mishaps in Thane and directed civic authorities to take immediate corrective measures wherever required. With the Friday tragedy, the toll from rain-related incidents in Thane rose to three in the last 10 days. A teenage girl from Mumbra was electrocuted during heavy rain last week, while a 64-year-old plumber died on Thursday after a tree fell on him.

Heavy police deployment during Ramesh Mhatre’s production in court triggered allegations of ‘VIP treatment’ from lawyers

Kalyan: A day after rejecting police’s plea to produce him via video conferencing on the grounds of ill health, a court on Friday sent Shiv Sena’s Kalyan-Dombivli corporator Ramesh Mhatre to police custody till Monday for the alleged assault of two doctors and nurses of a civic-run hospital in Dombivli over a purported delay in treatment of a pregnant patient.The court directed the investigating officer to ensure that he undergoes a medical examination by a govt doctor every eight hours.Police also got custody of Mhatre’s three supporters, who were arrested in the case, till Monday.Mhatre was brought to the Kalyan court on Friday afternoon after being discharged from Thane Civil Hospital, where he had been admitted following complaints of hypertension and elevated blood sugar levels hours after his arrest on Wednesday. The court directed police on Thursday to produce him in person.During the hearing, the prosecution sought seven days of police custody, saying investigators needed to record the statements of all the accused, establish their individual roles, analyse CCTV footage and collect additional evidence.Mhatre’s counsel, A Y Patki, said he went to the civic hospital only after receiving repeated calls from the patient’s husband alleging a delay in treatment. The defence said he visited the hospital to assist the patient’s family and had no intention of assaulting anyone. Patki said the 72-year-old corporator has only one kidney and has hypertension, diabetes and prostate-related ailments, and sought appropriate medical care during his custody.Heavy police security was deployed in and around the court premises during Mhatre’s production. The arrangements led to protests from lawyers, who alleged that police gave the corporator “VIP treatment”. Advocate Pradip Bawiskar claimed that police personnel shoved lawyers, prevented them from approaching the courtroom and warned them to vacate the area, allegedly threatening to book them for obstructing public servants if they did not comply. He alleged that despite several high-profile criminal cases being heard at the court in the past, he had never witnessed such elaborate security arrangements for an accused.

The bill removed the six months’ imprisonment provision for individuals found guilty of violating the law by selling saplings that are fake, or of poor quality

Mumbai: Despite objections from BJP MLAs, including Sudhir Mungatiwar and Ashish Deshmukh and opposition MLAs, the Legislative Assembly on Friday passed the Maharashtra Fruit Nurseries and Sale of Fruit Plants (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026. The bill removed the six months’ imprisonment provision for individuals found guilty of violating the law by selling saplings that are fake, or of poor quality or don’t bear fruits in the first instance. In the original Act, there was a provision for maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to 6 months, a fine of up to Rs 5,000, or both.In the amendment, the imprisonment provision has been removed for the first violation and the fine has been increased to Rs 25,000. Those found guilty of the same offence for the second time will face imprisonment for 6 months. The bill was introduced by horticulture minister Bharat Gogawale. The govt said the amendment was part of the aim to decriminalise minor contraventions of the provisions of the Acts to promote ease of doing business.“The Maharashtra Fruit Nurseries and Sale of Fruit Plants (Regulation) Act, 1969 was enacted to provide for the licensing and regulation of fruit nurseries and the sale of fruit plants, with a view to ensuring the supply of genuine pedigree fruit plants to growers and safeguarding agricultural productivity…The govt seeks to reduce the punishment for minor and technical regulatory violations to promote ease of doing business. The govt, considers it expedient to remove the punishment of imprisonment in respect of a first contravention and to substitute the same with an enhanced fine and to prescribe more stringent punishment with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, which may extend to Rs 25,000, or with both for second and subsequent contraventions,” the bill’s statement of objects and reasons stated.Deshmukh said that the bill was brought for nursery owners and was anti-farmer. Deshmukh demanded that the bill be referred to a joint select committee of legislators and be withdrawn for now. Deshmukh said fruit trees fructify after 5-6 years and by then, farmers already make heavy investment in growing those trees. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Kailash Patil said that the bill must have provisions to make the nursery owners pay the entire compensation of the losses suffered by farmers in case the trees don’t fructify.Congress MLA Nana Patole said the bill was against farmers and was only going to benefit corporate nurseries and companies.