22 ‘identified’ in crop insurance scam

A suspected crop insurance fraud under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has been unearthed in Kirtan village, Hisar district, where 22 individuals who are not residents of the village allegedly got local farmers’ crops insured under their own names.

The Agriculture Department and the crop insurance firm, upon investigating complaints by local farmers, discovered that these outsiders fraudulently secured insurance using fake tenant certificates claiming they had leased farmland from landowners. While the original farmers had sown wheat and mustard, the fraudsters insured their land for chana (chickpeas) — a clear discrepancy that raised suspicion.

Officials explained that under PMFBY, farmers receive insurance compensation in cases of crop failure or when crop cutting experiments indicate below-average yield. The fraudulent individuals aimed to receive insurance payouts in their own bank accounts by falsely claiming crop ownership.

Local farmer Bhup Singh, who owns four acres and had cultivated mustard and wheat, was shocked to learn that his land had been insured for chana without his knowledge.

"I don’t even have a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and have never insured my crops before. I had no idea someone had insured my land under a different crop," Singh said.

The fraudsters reportedly used Common Service Centres (CSCs) or private insurance agencies to submit fake tenant certificates and insure crops.

Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Hisar, confirmed the fraud and said corrective measures had been taken.

"The insurance amount for the land falsely insured by these 22 individuals has been reverted and the actual farmers have been advised to file a criminal case against them with the police."

Authorities are now urging affected farmers to come forward and file official complaints while further investigation is underway to identify more such fraudulent cases.