Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Last year, crops in the district suffered major damage during the Kharif season due to natural calamities. In response, the insurance company has approved a compensation amount of Rs 200 crore for the affected farmers. Of this, Rs 43.34 crore has already been deposited into the bank accounts of over 1.74 lakh farmers.
To support farmers facing unpredictable weather conditions, the Central Government introduced the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Starting from the 2023 Kharif season, the State Government launched a unique initiative offering crop insurance for just Rs 1. For the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, M.S. Cholamandalam Crop Insurance Company has been appointed as the implementing agency. Last year, the company received around 11 lakh applications for crop insurance.
During that Kharif season, the district experienced a highly irregular monsoon, with the first 1.5 to 2 months seeing very low rainfall, followed by heavy rains in August and September. Due to the low rainfall, crop growth was stunted, and the excessive rain later caused severe crop damage. Farmers reported these losses to the insurance company, prompting company officials to conduct field inspections and surveys (panchanamas) for verification.
At the end of December, crop assessments were conducted to evaluate the losses. Based on this report, the insurance company has now started disbursing compensation to affected farmers. During the Kharif season, cotton was the most widely cultivated crop in the district, followed by maize.
According to the Agriculture Department, compensation is being provided to those farmers who had enrolled in the crop insurance scheme. The company is disbursing a total of Rs 200 crore to farmers affected by crop damage during the Kharif season.
So far, Rs 43.34 crore has been credited to the bank accounts of 1,74,893 farmers, confirmed the Agriculture Department sources.
Instructions have been given to the insurance company to ensure that each farmer who enrolled in the crop insurance scheme receives a minimum compensation of Rs 1,000 in their bank account. No amount less than it should be disbursed to any farmer, said the Agriculture Officer Manisha Gawali.
2,875 farmers deprived of benefits
In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, the insurance company approved a compensation amount of Rs 57.35 lakh for 2,875 farmers. However, due to various issues such as non-updated bank accounts, incomplete KYC, lack of Aadhaar seeding, or accounts being closed by banks as loan accounts, the crop insurance compensation could not be credited to their accounts, said the Agriculture Department.