Crop insurance dues amounting to over ₹ 1,000 crores have not been paid and Farmers are being harassed repeatedly by these private insurance companies.
The Biju Janata Dal has raised the issue of non-settlement of claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), party spokesperson Sasmit Patra told on Monday that insurance companies have so far not settled claims totaling more than ₹ 1,000 crores for Odisha farmers.
‘The PMFBY has affected lakhs of Odisha farmers in Deogarh, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Nuapada, and Kalahandi districts,’ Patra told the media.
Also Read: ₹90,000 Cr disbursed to farmers under PMFBY Scheme over five years
He stated that the total premium paid to insurance companies until Kharif 2020 was ₹ 6163.28 crores, while the insurance companies paid ₹ 5,098.64 crores. As a result, insurance companies profited by ₹ 1,064.64 crores, he said.
According to Patra, Farmers in Odisha filed crop insurance claims totaling ₹ 2,090 crores between 2018 and 2020, but insurance companies paid less than half of these claims, totaling ₹ 1,026 crores,
Further ‘Farmers are being harassed repeatedly by these private insurance companies regarding their assessment of claims and payments under PMFBY scheme,’ he said. Patra believes it is past time for the Union government to address these issues and assist farmers in need.
Also Read: Marginal farmers’ involvement in crop insurance schemes declining
‘In order to protect the interests of farmers, the government should use new technology such as drones to expedite claim assessment and allow only government insurance companies to undertake PMFBY,’ he said.
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