Mumbai, Feb 3 (PTI) Maharashtra agriculture minister Dada Bhuse on Thursday said he had asked state officials to follow up with the Union government farmers’ complaints about crop insurance claims.
Bhuse was speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with officials and farmer leaders on the issue.
Insurance companies try to avoid payment of insurance amount to farmers on technical grounds, said Ravikant Tupkar, a leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna.
“Untimely and heavy showers damaged crops in Marathwada last year. As per the rules, a farmer must register a complaint about crop damage within 72 hours. But there was no mobile phone connectivity because of rains, so many farmers could not do that,” Tupkar told reporters.
Bhuse said he had asked agriculture officials to examine farmer leaders’ grievances.
“Their complaints are serious. The state government shall draft a proposal to take decision over the issue,” he said.
The agriculture department has given permission to farmers to submit damage assessment reports of the NDRF for speedy processing of crop insurance claims, he said.
Prataprao Jadhav, another farmer leader, claimed that the Maharashtra government has not paid its share of Rs 1,236 crore to insurance companies for 2020 and 2021, so these companies are not disbursing money to farmers.
If the problem was not resolved, farmers would launch an agitation, he warned.
Bhuse said the government has paid the insurance firms’ dues to an extent. “The companies should not have let farmers suffer due to such issues,” he added. PTI ND KRK KRK
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Source: The Print
