He urged distressed cultivators not to lose hope or take any extreme step.He was addressing a gathering at the inauguration of a 100-bed sub-district hospital at Wadi Budruk in Maharashtra's Nanded district. Shinde warned financial institutions and recovery agents against coercive loan recovery practices and said strict action would be taken against those harassing farmers."Microfinance companies, banks and moneylenders should not harass the farmers who are in distress.
If they do, they will not be spared. If any farmer dies by suicide due to harassment, murder cases will be registered," Shinde said, according to PTI.
The warning came days after a farmer was found dead inside the office of a finance company in Nanded. His family alleged that he had borrowed Rs 10,000, but the company was demanding Rs 70,000.Shinde said his party, the Shiv Sena, would also take responsibility for the marriages of farmers' daughters.
He added that the state government had decided to provide immediate financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to farmers before Diwali. "This Rs 5,000 aid is immediate help. The rest will be done as per crop-loss surveys.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have also said that they will stand with the farmers of Maharashtra," he said.The Maharashtra government has declared drought in 304 of the state's 358 tehsils where the Trigger-1 and Trigger-2 systems were activated during the 2026 Kharif season. The two successive stages are used to determine whether an area is affected by drought and assess its severity."Do not lose courage or take any extreme steps.
The government stands firmly with you in this difficult time," Shinde said, assuring farmers that they would not be left to fend for themselves.The deputy chief minister said the newly inaugurated 100-bed hospital at Wadi Budruk would provide affordable and quality healthcare to farmers, labourers and economically weaker people in rural areas. He asked Health Minister Prakash Abitkar to ensure that CT scan and dialysis facilities were made available at the hospital at the earliest.Shinde also said a new 500-bed building equipped with modern facilities would be constructed for Shri Guru Gobind Singhji District Hospital in Nanded with assistance from the Asian Development Bank.Abitkar said cancer treatment facilities would be provided in Nanded under the 'Maha Care' initiative with support from the Tata Memorial Trust.
Former Maharashtra chief minister and MP Ashok Chavan said the proposed 500-bed district hospital and the newly opened sub-district hospital would strengthen healthcare infrastructure in Nanded and neighbouring districts.- Ends