Hisar farmers struggle to get crop damage insurance claim
A district-level meeting of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) monitoring committee (DLMC) has directed an insurance firm to disburse the pending payment of the claims for crop damage to the farmers in Hisar district.
Sources said as per several complaints, the firm had held payment of about 50% of the farmers who suffered crop loss and were eligible for the payout under the insurance scheme.
The DMLC meeting, chaired by Deputy Commissioner Aneesh Yadav, reviewed the issues related to crop insurance claims for kharif 2022 and rabi 2022-23. After discussion, DC Yadav directed the firm to resolve all pending claims at the earliest to ensure farmers receive their compensation. Vimal Mishra, the representative of the private insurance firm, assured the DLMC of disbursing the farmers' claims as per the rules of the company.
Notably, as per an agenda in the meeting, it was revealed that approximately 22,213 farmers had applied for claims, with 4,693 cases requiring settlement. However, only 50 per cent of eligible claims had been approved for the season.
Another issue of the rejection of claims for mustard crop damage in Lohari Ragho village was taken up in the meeting. Many insurance policies were either rejected or only partially approved due to survey delays by the insurance company. The committee asked the firm to reassess these claims and compensate affected farmers accordingly.
The district-level committee also identified discrepancies in insurance settlements for farmers in villages such as Masudpur, Chaudharywas, and Sisai Kalan. In Masudpur, only 17 out of 81 policies were approved, despite official reports confirming substantial mustard crop damage. Similarly, in Chaudharywas and Sisai Kalan, large-scale inconsistencies in approved insurance claims were pointed out. The committee urged insurance providers to ensure fair settlements.
Besides, it came to light that insurance claims of 13 farmers were rejected due to clerical mistakes. The committee also asked the officials concerned to immediately take corrective action to ensure these farmers received their due compensation.