Earlier, Collector Nima Arora had recommended to the state government to blacklist ICICI Lombard in the district after a case was registered against 10 representatives of the company on March 21 at Khadan police station in Akola
Akola:
The administration has appointed a new private insurer for the implementation of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ in Maharashtra’s Akola district, officials said on Thursday.
The agriculture department on June 26 appointed HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company for 2023-24 amid complaints against ICICI Lombard insurance company that had been entrusted with the job last year, they said.
Earlier, Collector Nima Arora had recommended to the state government to blacklist ICICI Lombard in the district after a case was registered against 10 representatives of the company on March 21 at Khadan police station in Akola.
As per the first information report (FIR), the accused prepared false panchnama reports (survey forms), forged signatures of agriculture department officials to under-report the crop losses incurred due to unseasonal rains and other natural reasons, and prima facie cheated farmers of Rs 3.95 crore.
The complaint said that ICICI Lombard insurance company was appointed to implement the ‘Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme’ in Akola district for the kharif season 2022-23.
Under this scheme, crop damage assessment is conducted in the presence of an agriculture department official, the affected farmer and a representative of the insurance company. The panchnama report is considered admissible after all the participants sign on it, it said.
During the Kharif season last year, more than 3 lakh farmers had collectively paid a premium of Rs 24.24 crore. Officials said the actual premium paid to the insurer was much more as the government bears a bigger chunk of it.
However, the insurance amount paid by the company was less than the actual loss suffered by the farmers and the affected area was also under-reported, farmers had alleged.
Apart from the appointment of the new insurer, Collector Arora said, the state government has also approved 25 per cent of last year’s claim amount and a decision over the remaining is pending at the central level.
In the past, Shiv Sena (UBT) had staged protests in this regard across the district. The party workers allegedly ransacked the office of ICICI Lombard company in Murtijapur and party MP Arvind Sawant had written a letter to the Union agriculture minister against the company’s alleged malpractices.