High Court raps Haryana officials, firm in PMFBY claim case

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, February 15

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Haryana Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, to take appropriate action against “defaulting/erring officials” who failed to protect farmers’ interests in a crop damage matter.

Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj also made it clear that a district-level monitoring committee failed to discharge its obligations in accordance with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY). The observation came as the Bench noticed that the claim for crop damage suffered by the petitioner-farmers was not released.

Rapping an insurance company for poor functioning, he also imposed Rs 1 lakh cost on it for misconduct, avoiding the filing of response and delaying the case, resulting in harassment of petitioners. The company was also directed to recalculate the amount of admissible benefits/damages payable to the petitioners for the losses suffered in accordance with the evaluation by a loss assessment committee.

Justice Bhardwaj ruled that the petitioners would be entitled to 6 per cent per annum interest from the date of filing the petition till the compensation’s actual disbursement in terms of the order. The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that the petitioners were “covered and insured” under the yojna.

Information was sent to the insurance company after their crops were damaged following heavy rain. The state Agriculture Department, along with insurance company officials, carried out a survey for assessing the losses in the affected areas on October 7, 2016, before finding 100 per cent damage to the crops.

Numerous requests were made by the petitioners to the department and the company. Written complaints were also submitted, among others, to the Jhajjar Deputy Director Agriculture, who was in the district-level monitoring committee for the scheme’s implementation.

Justice Bhardwaj observed the grievance was espoused time and again, but action was not taken.

“The failure on the company’s part to file even the calculation sheets, and to establish that the assessment of losses had rightly been done by them, despite being given repeated opportunities and the writ petition having remained pending for more than seven years before this court, reflects its poor functioning and working,” the Bench added.

He added the company’s non-committal approach in making any statement and coming clean before the court deserved to be deprecated. The Bench directed the filing of the compliance reports by the respondent-State of Haryana and the company after six months.