46 lakh farmers brought under ambit of Bangla Shashya Bima

Kolkata: Under the Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) scheme, that was introduced by the state government in June 2019, following the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Bengal government has till now brought as many as 46 lakh farmers under the ambit of the state-run crop insurance scheme.

According to sources in the state agriculture department, around 21 lakh hectares of cultivable land have already been included under the crop insurance scheme. The scheme, a brainchild of the Chief Minister turned extremely beneficial for the farmers in the state. The crop insurance scheme had been rolled out in collaboration with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC), to protect farmers from natural disasters, and to ensure a steady income in case of unstable market prices.

The crop insurance scheme is "free of cost for the farmers" as the government pays the entire premium and the insurable crops are aman paddy, aus paddy, jute and maize.

The insurance scheme covers any losses suffered during planting, cultivation and during the period post-cutting when crops are lying at the field, and also for adverse weather situations.

According to sources, the state government has already spent Rs 450 crore for running of the scheme smoothly. The Bengal government has been running the crop insurance scheme for the farmers on its own after the Centre refused to provide funds.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier alleged that no funds were given by the Centre in this regard. The government used to spend 80 percent of the total cost of the project, while the Centre used to bear only 20 percent. Banerjee also alleged that the Centre claimed credit for the scheme when it has only 20 percent bearing of the entire project cost. Hence the state had decided not to take funds from the Centre.

Source: Millennium Post