Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana (Jharkhand Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme)

What is Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana?

Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana is the state's agricultural loan waiver scheme, run by the Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative, Government of Jharkhand. The scheme was rolled out in the 2020-21 financial year and the online application portal at jkrmy.jharkhand.gov.in opened in early 2021. The scheme is commonly called the Jharkhand Krishi Rin Maafi Yojana or simply the KCC loan waiver.

Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana exists to clear the short-term crop loan burden of small and marginal farmers who took working capital from a bank against a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and were unable to repay it. The state settles the outstanding amount with the lending bank on the farmer's behalf, which restores the farmer's credit standing and makes a fresh KCC limit possible for the next cropping season.

How the scheme works in practice

• The state government identifies eligible KCC loan accounts from bank data.
• The farmer submits an Aadhaar-authenticated application with a token fee of Rs 1.
• The lending bank branch verifies the outstanding balance and the standard status of the account.
• The district-level committee approves the case and the state releases the waiver amount to the bank, not to the farmer.

The original notification set the ceiling at Rs 50,000 of outstanding crop loan per eligible farmer. In June 2024 the state government announced that the ceiling would be raised to Rs 2 lakh, covering loans outstanding as on 31 March 2020 through a one-time settlement route. Farmers should treat the higher figure as the announced enhanced ceiling and check the amount actually sanctioned against their own account on the portal.

Who is eligible for the Jharkhand crop loan waiver?

You are covered if:

• You are a resident of Jharkhand and a farmer by occupation.
• You are 18 years or older on the date of application.
• You hold a valid Kisan Credit Card issued by a commercial bank, regional rural bank or cooperative bank operating in Jharkhand.
• Your short-term crop loan was outstanding and standard as on 31 March 2020.
• You have an Aadhaar number and a ration card, and the family has not already claimed the waiver through another member.
• You cultivate land, whether your own raiyati land or land taken from another owner. Landownership in your own name is not a separate condition, the KCC in your name is.

You are not eligible if:

• You are a serving or retired employee of the central or state government, a public sector undertaking or an autonomous body.
• You are an income tax payer.
• You draw a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 or more.
• You are a practising professional, doctor, engineer, lawyer, chartered accountant or architect.
• Your loan is not a crop loan. Term loans for tractors, pump sets, dairy, poultry, fisheries, gold loans and consumer loans are outside the scheme.
• Your loan was taken after 31 March 2020, or the account was already written off, settled or declared fraudulent by the bank.
• Another member of your family has already received the waiver against the same ration card.

The scheme is designed around one waiver per family, and the ration card is the instrument the department uses to enforce that. Two applications carrying the same ration card number will be flagged and the later one closed.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana

1. Open the official portal jkrmy.jharkhand.gov.in on a computer or phone, or take your documents to the nearest Common Service Centre (CSC) or Pragya Kendra.
2. Select the application option and enter your Aadhaar number, then complete Aadhaar authentication using the OTP sent to your registered mobile number or a biometric scan at the CSC.
3. Enter your ration card number. The portal pulls up the family record and the KCC loan accounts linked to your Aadhaar.
4. Select the correct Kisan Credit Card loan account and confirm the lending bank branch and outstanding amount shown on screen.
5. Pay the token fee of Rs 1 and submit the application.
6. Save the application reference number printed on the acknowledgement. You will need it to track the case.
7. Visit your bank branch if the portal asks for physical verification of the loan account, and sign the one-time settlement or waiver consent form the branch places before you.

Applications submitted at a CSC follow exactly the same path. The operator keys in the same details on your behalf and hands you the printed acknowledgement carrying the reference number. Do not pay the operator anything beyond the government-notified CSC service charge and the Rs 1 token fee.

How to check the status of your loan waiver

1. Open jkrmy.jharkhand.gov.in.
2. Choose the application status or beneficiary search option.
3. Enter your application reference number, or your Aadhaar number, and submit.
4. Read the stage shown, pending at bank, pending at district level, approved, or rejected.

If the status shows approved but the loan account balance at your branch has not changed, the settlement entry may still be in process at the bank end. Ask the branch manager for the credit voucher against the waiver.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Aadhaar not seeded with the loan account, the commonest cause. Get the branch to seed your Aadhaar with the KCC account, then reapply.
• Ration card already used, another family member has claimed the waiver. Only one claim per family is permitted.
• Loan is not a crop loan — term loans and gold loans against agricultural land do not qualify, however they were used.
• Account not standard as on 31 March 2020; accounts opened after the cut-off date, or already written off, fall outside the scheme.
• Name mismatch between the Aadhaar record and the bank record. The branch must correct the customer master before the case can move.
• Exclusion criteria triggered. An income tax return, government service or a pension of Rs 10,000 or more in the record will close the application.

Rejections carry a stated reason on the status screen. Where the reason is a data error rather than an eligibility bar, the fix is at the bank branch, not on the portal.

Key dates and current position

Jharkhand Krishi Rin Mafi Yojana works off a fixed reference date, the loan must have been outstanding as on 31 March 2020. There is no annual application window; the portal accepts applications through the year while the scheme runs, subject to budget release. The department has reported that several lakh farmer loan accounts have been settled under the scheme since 2021.

Where to complain if nothing moves

• State helpline: 1800-123-1136 (toll free)
• District Agriculture Officer in your district, who chairs the verification of pending cases
• Your lending bank branch, for anything to do with the loan account balance, Aadhaar seeding or the settlement entry
• Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi, for policy questions and unresolved district cases

No agent can get a farmer's name added to the waiver list. The only payment in the entire process is the Rs 1 token fee and, at a CSC, the notified service charge.