Centre directs insurance firm to pay Rs 225 cr to 2 lakh farmers for crop loss

New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) The Centre’s Technical Advisory Committee on Saturday issued an order to an insurance company, directing it to pay within one week the Rs 225 crore claims due to farmers in Maharashtra under the PM’s crop insurance scheme for damage caused to their soybean crop.  

The decision is expected to benefit around 2 lakh farmers, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The insurance company had been dilly dallying over the issue, leaving the farmers in the lurch. 

The issue came to the forefront when Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan interacted with the farmers in Maharashtra's Nanded on August 21. During the interaction, the farmers from Parbhani district informed the Union Minister about the problem of pending insurance claims for their soyabean crop.

Chouhan then gave instructions to the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare officials to immediately resolve the issue.

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare held a meeting of the National Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in this regard on August 22. At the meeting, the TAC rejected the objection raised by the insurance company on crop cutting experiments, and directed the firm to pay the pending claims. 

Due to this decision, pending claims of Rs 200-225 crore are to be paid to about 2,00,000 farmers of Parbhani district, the official statement said.

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a government-sponsored crop insurance scheme that aims to support the agricultural sector by providing affordable insurance to farmers. The scheme was launched in 2016 and offers comprehensive risk coverage for crops from pre-sowing to post-harvest stage against non-preventable natural risks. 

The objective of the scheme is to provide financial support to farmers who experience crop loss or damage due to unforeseen events. 

The scheme integrates multiple stakeholders on a single platform, including the Central and state governments, banks, CSCs, insurance companies, and farmers. 

Farmers can apply for the scheme online by creating a farmer's login account on the NCIP portal. They will need to provide their khasra, khatauni, bank account details, and Aadhaar, along with a declaration about the crop they plan to sow.