Jaipur: Large-scale irregularities have come to light in the crop insurance scheme of the central government in several districts of Rajasthan. Admitting these irregularities, the minister for agriculture Dr. Kirodi Lal Meena, assured a probe by the Special Operation Group of police.
Responding to questions regarding this in the state assembly on Monday, the minister said, "Serious irregularities by insurance companies under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) have come to light in several districts of the state. The Special Operations Group (SOG) will investigate these frauds."
Apprising the house about his inspections in different districts of the state, the minister said that due to the fraudulent practices by banks and insurance companies under the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme, the farmers could not receive compensation for their crop losses.
He explained that during an inspection in Karanpur, Sri Ganganagar district, he observed that the insurance company surveyor had forged the signatures of the farmer, agricultural supervisor, and revenue officer on the intimation forms.
“The review of 170,000 forms revealed that 32,000 intimation forms stated zero percent crop damage, while the actual damage was between 50 and 70 percent. This resulted in farmers losing approximately ₹128 crore of compensation,“ said the minister, adding that an FIR has been filed in Rawal and the police are investigating the matter. The insurance company has been found prima facie guilty in this regard, and a letter has been written to the central government requesting that this company not be awarded any further tenders.
Also Watch:
Dr. Meena, while detailing another case of fraud by an insurance company, stated that 71 accounts were opened in the names of farmers at SBI Bank in Salasar based on forged documents. The names of the farmers and their relatives were identical in these accounts. The bank had no other documents related to these accounts. This fraud could have resulted in incorrect payments of ₹9 crore to the Central and state governments. The AIC company has been implicated in this case, and an FIR has also been filed in this regard.
The Agriculture Minister stated that similar irregularities have been reported in Sanchore, Jalore, Churu, Nagaur, and Bikaner.
