Maharashtra Govt approves Rs 750 crore soft loan scheme for sugar mills

New Delhi: The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved soft loans involving around Rs 750 crore for cooperative sugar mills to clear pending Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues of farmers for the 2025-26 crushing season and support operations for 2026-27.

The decision was taken during a weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) stated.

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It said the move to give soft loans to clear FRP dues will provide relief to both sugarcane growers and mills.

Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said the soft loans involving around Rs 750 crore will help cooperative sugar mills overcome difficulties and operate during the current crushing season.

Under the scheme, it will be easier for sugar mills to obtain loans and the state government will bear the interest on them, the CM said.

"This will enable cooperative sugar mills to start this season and procure sugarcane. This will also benefit farmers," Fadnavis maintained.

He informed that Maharashtra had achieved nearly 99.5 percent payment of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers and was now first in the country in terms of FRP clearance.

The state government has decided to evaluate its top 25 schemes and policies to see whether their objectives are being achieved and benefits are reaching the intended population, Fadnavis maintained.

The assessment will examine the time taken to deliver benefits, whether there are hurdles and whether policies aimed at specific sectors, including industry, are actually benefiting those for whom they were formulated, he informed.

In another major policy decision, the Cabinet approved setting up the Maharashtra Technical Assistance Cell (Maha-TAC) to evaluate 25 major state government policies and 25 key welfare schemes.

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The one-year evaluation project will be undertaken based on recommendations from the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM Mumbai) and the Centre for Research in Schemes and Policies (CRISP) to enhance overall governance and decision-making.

The Cabinet also granted a stamp duty exemption on the lease agreement for a Nashik Municipal Corporation-owned study centre and library building leased to the Nashik branch of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad.

Apart from this, it cleared the free allotment of 6,240.30 square metres of government land in Arvi taluka of Wardha district to the local municipal council to construct a commercial complex.

The Cabinet approved amendments to the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, and passed amendments to the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961, enabling the return of state farming corporation land in Haregaon village of Ahilyanagar district to its original owners.

Among other decisions, the Cabinet sanctioned the creation of four administrative posts and approved the funding for the office of the Chairman of the Mumbai Police Housing Township Project, the CMO said.

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