The Ministry of Agriculture has urged the States to release their share of premium under crop insurance to benefit farmers, citing the examples of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan that have not released Rs 2,731 crore and Rs 1,482 crore respectively.
Replying to a query during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha on Friday, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Kailash Choudhary said the Centre was in touch with states for early release of their share so that it can release the premium to farmers. The premium subsidy sharing pattern between the Centre and States has been 50:50.
“The states which have not given premium for crop insurance include Madhya Pradesh which owes Rs 2,731 crore and Rajasthan which owes Rs 1,482 crore,” Choudhary said.
The other states with pending premiums include Mahrarashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal. He said the Centre was ready to release the premium to farmers the same day.
“We are in constant touch so that the farmers get their claim,” he said.
In reply to individual farmers’ premium, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala said 64 lakh farmers from Maharashtra had registered their losses individually after damage to crops due to incessant rains. “A survey was done and the farmers were paid Rs 4,000 crore,” he said.
Earlier, Choudhary said after detailed discussions with stakeholders, the government has recently approved the revamping of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) for implementation from the kharif season this year.