Keeping in view the upcoming general elections, the State Government on Thursday decided to roll out its flagship health insurance scheme for farmers under the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY).
The process for ensuring health insurance for farmers under the BKKY will be started from October and completed in two phases. An estimated 60 lakh farmers’ families will be benefited under scheme, said Agriculture Minister Debi Prasad Mishra, after a high-level meeting held under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.
He said that five insurance companies have been shortlisted to undertake the health programme. The NIC has been given charge of developing the software for the health insurance programme, he said.
Mishra said that the progamme would be operationalised dividing the State into three zones- South, Central and Nothern zone. Stating that illness is a threat to the income and earning capacity of the farming households, Mishra said that rising expenditure on medical treatment was one of the major reasons for indebtedness of the farmers’ households which put them in great distress.
In order to avoid such tragic problem, the State Government had decided to launch the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana to provide the farmers and their family members the much needed relief in the event of accident and disability, Mishra told. While each farmer family would have to pay minimum premium per annum at the rate of Rs30, the benefit will be available to members of the family of the farmers, including the head of the household, his spouse and three dependents.
The health insurance cover will be for Rs30,000. The State Government had provided Rs100 crore for the implementation of the health insurance scheme for farmers under the BKKY. The welfare scheme will benefit all medium, small and marginal farmers of the State, sources said.