Speaking in the legislative council, Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate said the state government will pay its instalment to insurance companies (on behalf of farmers) within eight days. He assured all eligible farmers will get money for crop losses within 15 days
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is yet to pay premium of Rs 1,015 crore to insurance companies due to which they did not disburse crop insurance claims submitted by farmers, Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate said on Tuesday.
Speaking in the legislative council, Kokate said the state government will pay its instalment to insurance companies (on behalf of farmers) within eight days.
He assured all eligible farmers will get money for crop losses within 15 days.
The state government has still not paid Rs 1,015 crore premium to insurance companies. That is why insurance companies did not release claims money to farmers,” Kokate told the upper house.
The agriculture minister noted insurance companies profited more than farmers from the crop insurance scheme.
He said Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) started in the state from the kharif season of 2016.
From 2016-17 to 2023-24, premium of Rs 43,201.33 crore was paid to insurance companies of which claims worth Rs 32,629 crore were settled, which is 76 per cent of the total premium paid, Kokate stated.
Maharashtra intends to start a new crop insurance scheme to make the scheme more transparent and for ensuring farmers get their fair and guaranteed compensation based on actual harvest results.
The new scheme will focus on harvest experiments. If the harvest falls short of expected output, farmers will get due compensation without delays. Additional help will also be provided through the National Disaster Response Fund to ensure no farmer is left out.