Only 7 per cent farmers received govt aid

Mumbai: Only seven per cent of Maharashtra farmers have received compensation through the Prime Minister crop insurance scheme for 2017’s kharif season so far. While around 45 lakh farmers have claimed compensation via the scheme, only 3.5 lakh farmers have received it. Out of the Rs 2,269 crore set aside for the scheme, only Rs 165 crore has been given to the farmers so far. A mismatch between farmers’ information and insurance companies’ data is the reason behind this delay, sources said.

Since 2016, the state has been implementing the crop insurance scheme for its farmers. Under this scheme, farmers have to pay a 2 per cent instalment for the kharif crop; 1.5 per cent for the rabi crop; and 5 per cent for horticulture. During the first year, the state government sought offline claims of farmers for benefits of the scheme. At the time, 1 crore 9 lakh farmers claimed insurance. The online system for claims was started from 2017. As Aadhaar linkage is now compulsory for online applications, the number of farmers has gone down. Almost 81 lakh farmers enrolled for the scheme in 2017 and nearly Rs 3,400 crore was transferred to the insurance companies.

With the 2018 kharif season about to start, almost 93 per cent farmers haven’t received the compensation cleared for 2017. According to information with The Asian Age, only seven per cent farmers have been able to get the compensation amount till now. The Marathwada region has seen the highest number of claims by farmers, with Rs 1,440 crore cleared under the scheme for this region. The second highest is the Amravati division with Rs 451 crore cleared. However, only three-and-a-half lakh farmers across the state have managed to get the amount.

The Union agriculture department has written to the state governments to look into the issue on a priority basis. It has also instructed that the work of checking the claims of insurance companies be expedited.

“We have asked insurance companies to speed up. Our government has cleared the biggest amount for crop insurance till date. There are some technical issues due to which, the compensation process is taking time. But we are committed to give farmers their rightful money,” said minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot.