Firm told to disburse claims worth Rs 85 cr to farmers

The Central Technical Advisory Committee (CTAC) under the Centre’s Agriculture and Farmers Welfare ministry has dismissed the appeal filed by an insurance firm against the decision of the State Level Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), Haryana, in disputes related to crop cutting experiments (CCEs) for rabi 2023-24 in Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, and Nuh districts.

The company had moved CTAC on March 3, 2025, after STAC’s ruling in January 2025 went against it. It alleged that its objections on CCEs in 148 insurance units (IUs) of Bhiwani, 45 IUs of Charkhi Dadri, and 38 IUs of Nuh were ignored and that reports of respective Deputy Directors of Agriculture Department in these districts were relied upon without independent validation. It further claimed that images and technical analysis by empanelled agencies proved violation of protocols.

The matter first came up before CTAC on June 26, where the government objected to the appeal, pointing out that it was filed beyond the stipulated 15 days. The CTAC stated that such conditions should be incorporated in future MoUs with insurers. On August 4, 2025, TAC examined the MoU and observed that while it specified timelines for appeal before STAC, there was no provision for escalation beyond that stage. Nevertheless, the committee proceeded to hear the case on merits.

In its submissions, the government said in Charkhi Dadri, the insurer co-witnessed all disputed CCEs except four IUs, while in Bhiwani, of 516 CCEs across 129 IUs under dispute, it co-witnessed all but did not sign forms in 23 cases. The government emphasised that objections were not recorded during the CCEs but were raised only after yield data was reported, and no technical reports were submitted to the DLMC or STAC at that stage.

After examining documents, the CTAC observed deficiencies in the insurer’s appeal, which lacked corroborative evidence and was delayed. It held that the belated technical report neither covered all disputed IUs comprehensively nor ruled out yield variations due to local agronomic factors. It also noted that semi-physical models could not replace ground-based CCEs. The CTAC, however, upheld STAC’s decision and directed the company to settle claims as per actual yield data provided by the government.

Sharing this information, former agriculture minister JP Dalal said after the decision in favour of the farmers, the firm would have to disburse the claims of about Rs 85.5 crores to the affected farmers within a week.