Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh): Congress leader and district panchayat member Tarun Baheti from Neemuch levelled serious allegations against the state government and insurance companies engaged in crop insurance in the area.
Addressing media persons, Baheti sensed some major scam is going on behind crop insurance scheme in the state. Quoting the report of 2021-22, Baheti claimed that during this year, Rs 108 crore was paid to the insurance company for insuring Kharif and Rabi crops from natural calamity in Neemuch district, whereas only Rs 38.45 crore has been paid to the farmers despite a majority of farmers in the district witnessing crop loss due to natural calamity.
He added that only a few farmers from selected villages have got insurance claims, while a majority of them did not get it. Baheti said that the insurance amount received by the farmers is being given by combining both Kharif and Rabi crops, but the agriculture department and the insurance company are refraining from giving information on which farmer had suffered loss and what the criteria for assessing the loss, nor the insurance amount. The list is being made public. Baheti said that if the three MLAs of the district had paid attention while assessing damage and kept a hold on the district administration, today all farmers of the district would have got crop insurance. He informed that during the year 2021-22 in Neemuch district, the Agriculture Insurance Company had insured Kharif and Rabi crops of Neemuch district, in which thousands of farmers were insured through district co-operative banks, nationalised banks and private banks. In which a crop insurance premium of Rs 108.5 crore was deposited with the insurance company. The insurance premium includes Rs 46.45 crore from the Central government share, Rs 46.45 crore from state government share and the remaining Rs 14.51 crore share from farmers.
Meanwhile, both Kharif and Rabi crops got damaged in the district due to excessive rain and hailstorm. Following instructions of the state government, a survey of crops was done and after waiting for about a year, only a few farmers got the crop insurance amount. Baheti blamed the public representative’s negligence as the reason behind farmers’ losses.
Many farmers deprived of crop insurance
Baheti said that there are 248 halka patwaris in Neemuch district, but the problem is there are 158 areas of Kharif crop year 2021, in which not a single farmer has got the benefit of crop insurance. The situation is the same for Rabi crop year 2021-22 also. Not a single farmer got Rabi crop insurance benefits in 184 halka patwari areas.
Baheti said quoting government statistics report, there are 68 halka patwari areas in Neemuch urban, Neemuch rural and Jiran tehsils of Neemuch sub-division, out of which crop insurance has not been received in 41 areas of Kharif crop, 2021. Similarly, in Rabi crop year 2021–22, farmers have not got the benefit of insurance in 29 halkas patwari areas.
Apart from this, farmers have not received crop insurance in kharif crop year 2021 in 50 halka patwari areas out of 80 halka patwari areas of Jawad-Singoli tehsil of Jawad sub-division. Similarly, in rabi crop year 2021-22, not a single farmer has benefited from the insurance amount in 79 halka patwari areas. Along with this, out of 100 patwari circles under Manasa and Rampura tehsils of Manasa sub-division, farmers have not received crop insurance in 69 circles for Kharif crop year 2021. Similarly, in Rabi crop year 2021-22, farmers have not received the benefit of insurance claim amount in 86 districts.
