Farmers are suffering, and the issue is not new to India. The farmers in the country are facing a tougher time now as under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, at least 55 percent of estimated claims haven't received any insurance compensation, according to the latest numbers from the agriculture ministry, Mint reported.
The data reveals that insurance companies collected Rs 22,338 crore in 2016-17 in premiums, a four-fold increase year-on-year (y-o-y) that was mostly subsidised by the central and state governments.
However, till July, 21, against Rs 12,490 crore of estimated claims (for kharif and rabi crop seasons), only Rs 5,875 crore or just 45%, has been paid to farmers. Claims arising out of the kharif crop, harvested in November last year are estimated at Rs 10,257 crore, of which Rs 4,649-crore worth or 45%, have been settled, the business daily reported.
Mint quoted an official on the condition of anonymity, who said, "The delay in claim settlement is due to state governments delaying paying their share of premium and delays in carrying out crop-cutting experiments to estimate yield loss."
The data shows that in Bihar and West Bengal, insurance companies collected Rs 1,423 crore and Rs 731 crore in premiums, respectively, and despite Rs 432 crore of estimated claims from these states, farmers received less than Rs 1 crore. Similarly, in Telangana, Rs 311 crore was collected as premium and against Rs 174 crore of estimated claims, farmers did not receive any payouts.
This delay is aggravating farmers' distress as it has been over seven months since they harvested their kharif crops, and it is the responsibility of state governments to carry out crop-loss assessment and send the claims for processing to insurance companies.
Last week, the Comptroller and Auditor General, in a performance audit, said that the centre and state governments spent a staggering Rs 32,606 crore towards crop insurance schemes in five years (2011-12 to 2015-16), but could not ensure that the money spent "reached the intended beneficiaries or achieved the intended purposes".
