The Maharashtra Government has rejected allegations of widespread illegal moneylending in the state, particularly in Amravati district, while asserting that crop credit is being made available through the formal banking system, including cooperative banks.
In a written reply to a question raised by MLAs Rohit Pawar and Babaji Kale during the ongoing Monsoon Session of the State Legislature, Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil said claims that over 2.34 lakh farmers in Amravati had borrowed from moneylenders were “not true.”
The Minister informed the House that as of April 2026, 574 licensed moneylenders in Amravati had extended non-agricultural loans to 43,936 borrowers amounting to Rs 54.63 lakh.
He also denied allegations that illegal moneylending had expanded due to inadequate bank credit or that the problem had spread widely across Maharashtra.
Patil told the Assembly that eligible beneficiaries are being provided credit through the Kisan Credit Card facility, including loans for allied activities such as fisheries and animal husbandry.
He added that district-level coordination committees headed by Collectors are monitoring crop loan sanction and distribution, while a three-member administrative committee constituted under a 2017 Government Resolution is responsible for action against illegal moneylending.
