Crop insurance scheme: Jakhar urges CM Mann to implement PMFBY for farmers

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar has said the state should announce the implementation of a crop insurance scheme for farmers during the special Vidhan Sabha session scheduled for April 13.

He has also written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann in this regard.

Jakhar said that although the Government of India has already implemented a crop insurance scheme, the Punjab government has not notified it. By doing so, the Chief Minister is committing a major injustice towards farmers, he said.

He said that unseasonal rains and hailstorms have caused large-scale crop damage.

Earlier, floods in 2023 and 2025 also led to massive destruction, and even now many farmers have not received compensation because no crop insurance scheme is in place in the state. Even today, farmers remain worried about how their losses due to such disasters will be compensated.

He reminded the Chief Minister that three years ago, it was announced that the Punjab government would introduce its own agricultural insurance scheme in place of the Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). However, farmers continue to suffer losses worth thousands of crores of rupees, and the scheme is still awaited.

Jakhar said that since the state government has called a special Assembly session on April 13, the Chief Minister should fulfil his promise and, without delay, announce Punjab’s own crop insurance scheme.

He further advised that if the state government’s financial condition is weak, it should immediately implement the Central Government’s crop insurance scheme, which is already operational in other states and has proven beneficial for farmers.

While speaking to the media, Jakhar suggested that instead of spending heavily on advertisements, the government should allocate funds from the already debt-burdened state treasury towards paying insurance premiums for farmers.

He alleged that every section of society is unhappy with the current government — farmers are not receiving compensation, traders and industrialists are not getting a peaceful environment, and poor law and order along with drug issues have created fear among the people.

Jakhar also said that lakhs of government employees and pensioners are facing financial hardship because the state government has not provided the due increase in Dearness Allowance (DA).

He pointed out that while the Central Government and neighbouring states are giving 58 per cent DA, Punjab is providing only 42 per cent. He added that despite the High Court directing the government to release the DA, the state is planning to approach the Supreme Court instead, which reflects its ‘anti-employee stance’.

He concluded by saying that the people of Punjab are eagerly waiting for 2027, when they will get the opportunity to remove what he described as an “anti-people government” from power.