Maharashtra budget: More support for free farm power; plan to expand clean energy

Mumbai: Maharashtra proposed a sharper rise in budgetary support for free electricity to farmers, even as it accelerated a parallel push to shift agricultural demand to solar power and expand clean-energy capacity across the state.Under the Mukhyamantri Baliraja Mofat Veej Yojana, the state disbursed Rs 32,756 crore up to Feb 2026 to provide a 100% concession in electricity bills for agricultural pump consumers up to 7.5 HP, said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in his budget speech on Friday.In the 2026-27 budget, the govt proposed an outlay of Rs 23,000 crore for the scheme, an increase of Rs 8,000 crore over last year's allocation."The govt is also banking on the Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana 2.0 to deliver daytime power to all agricultural pump consumers by building 16,000 MW of solar capacity. So far, 3,349 MW was commissioned, and an additional 10,000 MW is targeted by December 2026," Fadnavis said.On the rooftop solar front, Maharashtra is ranked 2nd nationally in implementation. About 4.6 lakh domestic consumers installed rooftop solar systems totalling over 1,735 MW, with subsidies of Rs 3,200 crore extended to beneficiaries. The state set a long-term target of achieving 75% clean energy by 2047 through solar, wind and green hydrogen projects, the CM stated in the budget speech.He further said that the state created a Guinness World Records milestone by installing 45,911 solar agricultural pumps in December 2025 alone. The state also approved a subsidy of Rs 635 crore to 5 lakh beneficiaries of the SMART scheme for rooftop solar consumers using 0-100 units of electricity monthly.Fadnavis also announced the "Maharashtra Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Policy 2025 to 2035", targeting 50% green energy by 2029 and 65% by 2035. The policy is expected to attract Rs 3 lakh crore in investment and generate Rs 15,600 crore via state GST.Separately, under the pumped hydro development policy, MoUs for 55 projects were signed, with an expected 78,215 MW capacity, he said. The chief minister added that these projects could bring Rs 4.1 lakh crore investment and 1.3 lakh jobs; work began on 6 projects totalling 10,300 MW.