Aggrieved farmers of Khariar block in Nuapada district who have been waiting for payment of insurance dues for Kharif paddy of 2015 locked the Khariar branch of the Bhawanipatna Central Cooperative Bank for about four hours on Friday.
“Insurance money has already been paid to the bank more than three months ago, but why the bank is holding that back,” asked the farmers.
The insurance money was allotted to the district in November lastand the district administration was directed by the State Cooperation Department to credit the insurance indemnity to farmers’ accounts as per the claims.
However the Cooperation Department at the same time instructed the district Collector to verify the claims in detail to avoid multiple payments. The letter of the department’s Principal Secretary reveals that in 13 blocks of the State, the area insured is more than the estimated sown area by 10 percent. “It requires close scrutiny at the time of payment to detect multiple claims,” says the letter.
Nonetheless, the Secretary has directed for early transfer of the claims of loanee farmers. The farmers are, however, aggrieved that the banks have not even transferred the claims of the farmers.
The non-loanee farmers hold that it is illegal to deny insurance for multiple claims. “The insurance company and the Government never raised a single question in last 12 years while taking premium for multiple claims, why is it questioning nowIJ Is it because it is their turn to pay,” asked the farmers.
The bank was given a 10-day ultimatum to complete the transfer. “Otherwise, we will lock the bank again,” said BJP Krushak Morcha district president Sanjay Tiwari.