CM Devendra Fadnavis recently told the Legislative Assembly that farmers owed the Maharashtra exchequer Rs. 17,000 crore in the form of outstanding power bills for the agriculture pump sets.

Fadnavis stated that though the government had initiated the process to recover the pending dues, it has stopped the drive temporarily taking into consideration various hardships being faced by the farmers.

The CM asserted, “The state government was directed by the MERC (Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission) to recover the amount from farmers and the process had begun. However, considering the hardships faced by the farmers, the recovery process has been stayed.”