Mumbai, Oct 5: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde on Thursday gave a stern warning to crop insurance companies that action will be initiated against them if compensation due under Crop Insurance scheme is not paid to farmers within eight days.
Presiding over a meeting held to review the matter due to delay by some insurance companies in paying compensation to farmers who suffered losses under the Pradhan Mantri Pik Bima Yojana in year 2020-21, he said that crop insurance companies should be prepared to face action as per rules if compensation is not paid to farmers for losses suffered during the Covid pandemic under Pradhan Mantri Pik Bima Yojana.
The minister further said that due to heavy rains in the Kharif 2020 season, farmers have lost their crops, however, due to various reasons such as lockdown, travel restrictions, non-functioning of insurance companies’ offices, farmers could not notify about the losses caused due to natural disasters to insurance companies.
Insurance companies have been informed about compensation to farmers as per ‘panchnama’ made by NDRF for Kharif 2020 season, he said and claimed that insurance companies however are avoiding payment of compensation to farmers by raising various issues in this regard.
Munde said that out of six companies participating in Pradhan Mantri Pik Bima Yojana, the dues of four such companies are amounting to Rs 224 crore.
Covid being a global disaster, companies should be cooperative and take action in the next week on distribution of compensation to farmers, he added.
