The Maharashtra government's loan waiver scheme should cover farmers who suffered crop losses due to unseasonal rains in October last year, the opposition BJP demanded in the assembly on Thursday. Speaking during the Question Hour on availability of crop loans for farmers affected by unseasonal rains last year in Solapur district, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP said the cut-off date for the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule farm loan waiver scheme is September 30, 2019. This will leave out cultivators who suffered crop losses due to untimely rains in October last year, the former chief minister said.

"The state witnessed unseasonal rains in October due to which crops spread across 95 lakh hectares were damaged," Fadnavis said, demanding to know if the scope of the loan waiver scheme will be extended till October 31, 2019. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the farm loan waiver implementation, which started this week, will be completed in three months.