Mumbai: In each of the four orders, 9% interest per annum will have to be paid from the time of filing the complaint (2021) till the date of order, if the amount is not given within 45 days.
The claims were rejected for different reasons. The farmer and the families in the four cases approached the consumer commission after a family member died or became handicapped either because of a snake bite, lightning strike or an accident.
Cannot blame a farmer or family for delay
The commission, citing case laws, stated that the insurance company was obliged to depute an employee in the tehsil office to scrutinise the claims immediately and cannot blame a farmer or family for delay or for not receiving the documents on time.
In the case of farmers not being registered, it said that the government resolution did not state that a person needed to be a farmer even before the scheme came into existence. Further, the commission uniformly stated in all the matters that the government intended to extend benefits of the scheme to the farmers. It then directed that the compensation be paid.
