3,378 farmers await relief for insured crops

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, August 7

As many as 3,378 farmers of Rohtak district have lodged complaints regarding non-grant of insurance compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) for crop losses suffered by them during the rabi season of 2022.

The affected farmers have complained that they had reported the crop losses to the insurance company in time and surveys were also conducted to assess the damage caused to their crops, but they were yet to get the compensation.

Sources point out that the three-year term of the private insurance company engaged for crop insurance under the PMFBY had recently ended and a new company had now taken over.

“Farmers have been making rounds of government offices to get their due compensation, but the officials of the previous company are not available following the change of regime,” said Sumit, general secretary of the state unit of the All-India Kisan Sabha. Questioned about the matter, Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar maintained that the issue was taken up at a meeting of the district-level monitoring committee for PMFBY held today and representatives of Bajaj Allianz, the previously engaged insurance company, were directed to clear the dues of farmers at the earliest.

“The company officials stated that the settlement of farmers’ claims was in process. A review meeting has been called after 10 days to assess the progress in this regard,” said Kumar.

The Deputy Commissioner asked the officials concerned of the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare as well as banks to ensure that the farmers covered under PMFBY get prompt compensation in the event of crop losses.

He also cautioned the insurance company officials against rejecting the claims of farmers on flimsy grounds.

Deputy Director (Agriculture) Mahavir Singh said the concerns of the farmers would be addressed in coordination with the insurance company officials.

Assistant Statistical Officer (ASO) Vinod Hooda said the matter pertaining to mismatch of farmers’ data, including their villages and bank accounts, were also taken up at the meeting.

“While 3,378 farmers had complained of non-grant of crop-loss compensation despite surveys, there were nearly 90 cases of data mismatch,” he added.