Yavatmal: Former forest minister and Digras MLA Sanjay Rathod has written to the Union agriculture minister to safeguard interests of farmers in Yavatmal, and refund 80% of crop insurance premium paid by them, in line with the ‘Beed pattern’. Speaking to TOI here on Wednesday, Rathod criticised the Centre and the insurance company operating in Yavatmal for ignoring the plight of the farmers.
Maharashtra is a leading state in implementing Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana since 2016. Private insurance company IFFCO Tokio has collected Rs23,180 crore premium from farmers over the last five years starting from 2016, and paid claims worth Rs15,622 crore (67.46%). Farmers in the state paid Rs5,801 crore premium in 2020-21, against which the company paid mere Rs823 crore (15.8%) as compensation.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has on May 5, 2021, written to Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and requested him to consider the proposal submitted by the state government to help farmers across the state. State agriculture minister Dadaji Bhuse has also written four letters to Tomar, drawing his attention to the crisis faced by farmers due to the pandemic, natural calamities and repeated pest attacks.
Explaining the ‘Beed pattern’, Rathod said the insurance company is allowed to retain 20% of the premium paid by individual farmers, and refund remaining premium to farmers. He said, in case the ‘Beed pattern’ is implemented in Yavatmal, lakhs of farmers whose insurance claims were ineligible for compensation would be benefited.
In Yavatmal alone, 4,67,878 farmers have paid Rs168 crore premium for crops on 3,30,012 hectares. However, the company paid only Rs47.17 crore to 61,289 farmers across the district. As a result, 4,06,589 farmers were deprived of any benefit under PMFBY, which is unjustifiable, said Rathod. The insurance company classifies the district into 101 circles and 10 farmers are chosen from each circle to calculate the average crop yields and the income thereon. As a result, a large chunk of farmers are declared ineligible based on this crop yield calculation, said Rathod, and pointed out that states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand don’t have insurance scheme for their farmers.
The central government should permit the state to make rules for insurance scheme for farmers, Rathod demanded. He warned that he might lead farmers to the streets, like the protest underway at Delhi borders, if the Centre fails to concede the just demand of farmers to refund 80% premium in line with the ‘Beed pattern’.
Earlier, sitting Lok Sabha member from Yavatmal, Bhavana Gawali of Shiv Sena, had taken up the issue on the floor of the House. She had demanded permission to the state to finalise insurance company, premium and manner of calculating compensation, and settlement of claims etc.
Source: The Times of India
31-05-2021
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