#bani bedi

[indizombie]

The Centre for Science and Environment did detailed surveys in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and interacted with farmers, governments and insurance companies. They found several problems with the way Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is being implemented. First, it found that an assessment of crop failure is either insufficiently done or not done at all. Surveyors are not properly trained, do not use advanced technology and are often found to be corrupt. Despite lowering premium payment rates, kharif season 2016 witnessed a 12.6% country-wide actuarial rate. The rate in Gujarat was 20.5%, in Rajasthan 19.9%, and in Maharashtra 18.9%. During kharif 2016, insurance companies made massive profits totalling Rs 10,000 crore. Additionally, the scheme only covers farmers who have availed of loans. The proportion of farmers who hadn’t taken loans and still used the insurance scheme was less than 5%. Tenant and sharecropper farmers are also not covered.

Bani Bedi, 'Modi’s Flagship Crop Insurance Scheme Wavering as Farmers Continue to Suffer', The Wire

[indizombie]

On April 5, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliated farmers’ union Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the Gujarat high court demanding the removal of clause 2 of the scheme which makes it compulsory for a farmer to get crop insurance under the scheme when a farmer seeks any crop loan. Vitthal Dudhatara, the president of the Gujarat branch of BKS, told Hindu Business line, “Due to this Clause (2), the insurance premium amount will be straight away deducted from the loan amount, without the knowledge of the farmers. They have no access to representatives of insurance companies either. The provisions in the scheme are against the farmers. Insurance can’t be compulsory.” The PIL filed by the BKS termed the mandatory payment of an insurance premium for the scheme “financial exploitation”. It stated that since farmers already mortgage their land against crop loans, they don’t require mandatory crop insurance, and attacked the lack of clarity in the scheme in terms of undecided premium amounts by the state and central governments, the lack of specifications on crops and coverage. The PIL also questioned the absence of field surveys that should be rightfully conducted while issuing insurance policies. It also mentioned some instances where after flood damage, surveyors did not even reach the affected areas when farmers claimed insurance pay-outs.

Bani Bedi, 'Modi’s Flagship Crop Insurance Scheme Wavering as Farmers Continue to Suffer', The Wire

[indizombie]

Maharashtra has been suffering a severe agrarian distress for the last few years. This year 1,092 farmers have already committed suicide. That is seven farmer suicides everyday. In the Parbhani district of Marathwada, one of the worst affected regions, farmers’ groups have protested through rasta rokos, demanding compensation for crop insurance. Massive delays and inadequacy in payment of compensation have contributed to the mounting distress amongst farmers in the state. For the 2017 kharif season, insurance companies were due to pay farmers Rs 2,269 crores as claims under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. However, till May 10, the companies had disbursed only Rs 165 crore, or a mere 7.2% of the total claims. The public sector Agriculture Insurance Company was the worst performing – it owed Rs 1,014 crore to 18.7 lakh farmers, and had only released Rs 9 lakh to 40 farmers until May 10. Farmers’ groups have claimed that anyone who wants a crop loan has to compulsorily sign up for the government scheme. Government data shows that 81 lakh farmers in Maharashtra ended up enrolling for it, of which 45 lakh were supposed to be beneficiaries. However, only 3.5 lakh farmers (8% of total beneficiaries) actually received the compensation.

Bani Bedi, 'Modi’s Flagship Crop Insurance Scheme Wavering as Farmers Continue to Suffer', The Wire