Relief Funds Stuck in Limbo as Vidarbha Farmers Wait for Aid

thenewsdirt
Aug 18
7 min read

In the central plains of Vidarbha, farmers who survive on cotton, soybean and citrus crops are caught in a widening chasm between government promises and actual support.

Over the past years, state and central authorities have announced multiple relief packages for distressed farmers, from loan waiver schemes to compensation for crop losses, yet much of the aid has not reached its intended recipients on time.

Villagers report that damage assessments and paperwork were completed months ago, but relief payments have not yet come for many of them. Repeated assurances from politicians have thus given way to growing frustration as families wait for funds.

Government Aid Schemes in Vidarbha

Maharashtra has unveiled a range of schemes aimed at easing farmers’ distress in recent years. Both the state and central governments pledged financial help after droughts, hailstorms and unseasonal rains.

Authorities declared parts of Maharashtra drought-affected in 2022 and promised compensation for damaged crops under the State Disaster Relief Fund.

In early 2024, the state raised its compensation rates for flood- and rain-damaged crops (up to ₹13,600 per hectare for non-irrigated crops, ₹27,000 for irrigated and ₹36,000 for perennial crops).

After widespread rainfall damage to citrus orchards in Vidarbha, the new government announced in January 2025 that orange and sweet lime growers would receive ₹36,000 per hectare. Similarly, officials said farmers affected by April–May 2025 storms would be eligible for immediate payouts once damage assessments were complete.

The state also promised broader measures. In the 2019–20 period, Maharashtra expanded its farm loan waiver to cover more loans and committed tens of thousands of crores for debt relief.

Central schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) provided ₹12,000 per year to every farmer, while crop insurance under the PMFBY was meant to help when yields fell below targets.

In late 2023, the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that since mid-2022, his administration had disbursed over ₹44,278 crore to farmers for drought, hailstorms and flood relief.

These announcements have created high expectations among rural residents of Vidarbha that much-needed funds will arrive.

Payment Delays and Bureaucracy

Despite the announced packages, payments have often been slow to materialise. In many cases, bureaucratic hurdles and election-year politics have contributed to delays.

Government records show that farmers’ compensation claims sometimes languish in official queues.

A December 2023 report noted that although crop-loss surveys were completed months earlier, relief payments had not yet come for many farmers in the affected areas. A Maharashtra revenue minister later urged district officials to speed up damage assessments and instructed them to treat the compensation process as a top priority, promising that aid would be given without delay once reports were received.

Past election deadlines have also stalled payment. In one case, the state cabinet approved a citrus crop relief package in November 2023, but no money was released before the elections.

A local legislator, Salil Deshmukh of the NCP, had to stage mass protests demanding ₹50,000 per hectare for orange losses. Only after these demonstrations, and a change of government, did officials resume work.

A report noted that no compensation was issued under the previous administration, delaying relief in view of the approaching state elections. Soon after a new government took office, the transfers to farmers’ bank accounts began.

The backlog is not limited to crop aid. Loan waivers promised years ago remain incomplete. Farmers’ organisations point out that though waiver schemes were declared before the 2022 polls, little implementation followed.

As activist Kishore Tiwari said about the widely-publicised loan relief, it was never implemented in letter and spirit. As a result, many farmers were left out of the scheme. In practice, co-operative banks that had waived loans in expectation of state reimbursement found themselves with unpaid dues.

These banks have sometimes issued recovery notices to farmers, claiming that their loans are still on the books if government funds are not received. In effect, loans thought written off have reappeared as debts, creating confusion and anxiety. The delays mean that many farmers keep depending on credit even after crop failure.

In one district of Vidarbha, a farmer said he was effectively denied the loan waiver status on the bank’s records despite eligibility, and had to borrow from private moneylenders at high interest just to plant the next crop.

Such stories are common: farmers who were counting on government support find themselves scrambling for cash, often from informal sources, because the official payments are still pending.

Even insurance payouts have been uneven; a village leader reported that although thousands enrolled in crop insurance in 2023, in his area, only soybean farmers received advance insurance payouts, while others waited.

Impact on Farming Communities

The practical consequences of the delays are severe. When promised relief is slow, farmers face acute shortages of cash for seeds, fertilisers and labour for the next sowing season. Many have reduced their cultivated area or planted lower-yielding crops due to a lack of funds.

In Vidarbha, where irrigation is limited, livelihoods are highly sensitive to timing. Delayed money can mean the difference between planting on time or letting land lie fallow.

Some farmers have shared that they must lease out fields or sell livestock to survive while waiting for aid. In turn, this deepens debt burdens for already vulnerable households.

Tragically, the strain has also fed into a long-running suicide crisis. While relief delays are just one factor, there is a link between support failures and despair.

Even after sustained government attention, Vidarbha saw hundreds of farmer deaths in 2023–2025. In 2023, 2,851 Maharashtra farmers died by suicide, the highest number in years; Vidarbha alone accounted for 1,439 of those deaths.

In the first quarter of 2025, 767 more suicides were reported. Families of those who died rely on ex gratia payments and debt relief, but the same slow processes that frustrate living farmers also slow help for the bereaved. As of mid-2025, only 376 of the 767 recent cases had even been approved for the ₹1 lakh compensation each, and just ₹18 lakh had been paid out of nearly ₹2.95 crore sought. Such figures mean many families continue to wait in limbo, even as they cope with loss.

Anger and protest have grown. Farmers’ organisations in Vidarbha have carried out demonstrations, burned copies of political party manifestos, and staged sit-ins demanding overdue payments. In Nagpur, activist Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has organised road blockades and hunger strikes to press for the release of funds. Earlier disputes sometimes turned violent; one legislator recalled that a protest at a city square over the relief delay ended with police arrests.

However, every protest or appeal forced officials to restart stalled work. For example, following a large demonstration about orange crop losses, authorities finally ordered an immediate survey of damage. Citrus farmers, too, waited anxiously to see when bank transfers would follow that survey.

On the ground, families are sharing stories of distress long before any formal aid arrives.

Women in the villages speak of children missing school fees, and elders going without medicine because the expected money is still pending. Local cooperative leaders report that until government payments clear, they have to recycle old funds or ask for more loans.

There is resentment that announcements are made loudly, but money comes too slowly, one agricultural officer commented. The collective sense is that it is not enough to announce relief. Quick delivery is what farmers need to get back on their feet.

Official Response and Political Pressure

Faced with criticism, government officials have at times conceded the slowness and vowed to act.

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, after touring flood-hit areas in Vidarbha, told the press that he had instructed administrative staff to complete damage reports and expedite the process of fund allocation so that compensation will be disbursed without delay.

He emphasised that timely support was crucial and asked each district head to prioritise relief. Similarly, state ministers have hinted that work on pending payments will pick up now that elections are over.

Opposition politicians have seized on the issue. In the state legislative assembly, Congress members have repeatedly accused the government of ignoring farmers' needs. Vidarbha MLA Vijay Wadettiwar challenged why billions were being spent on road projects while budgets for the promised farm loan waivers were missing.

He pointed to the new toll highways as evidence that funds existed, and demanded to know, that where is the budget for farm loan waivers as promised? He also noted that of 767 suicides in early 2025, 194 cases were still under inquiry and therefore unpaid. Such critiques underline the belief among many that the system is prioritising other agendas over getting money to farmers in time.

Some government reports attempt to highlight successes. Official data showed that for 2023 as a whole, nearly all eligible ex gratia payouts (96%) were eventually made to families of deceased farmers.

However, activists counter that payouts to survivors of crop losses, as well as actual loan relief, remain slow. Leaders like Tiwari bluntly say the net effect is a cycle of promise and pause: schemes were declared, but they were not implemented in a manner that could provide tangible relief to those who needed it most. In other words, the gap between announcements and action is eroding trust.

Whether political pressure or new administrations can close that gap remains to be seen. As of 2025, many in Vidarbha continue to watch their bank balances anxiously.

Vidarbha’s farmers have been assured repeatedly that help is on the way, but until the money arrives in their hands or lands, they must make decisions in the dark. The coming months will show if pledged funds finally translate into real relief or if disbursement delays will keep deepening the region’s agrarian crisis.