This story is from December 14, 2017

LIC, MP govt dither delaying death claims of 400 farmers in Alirajpur

LIC, MP govt dither delaying death claims of 400 farmers in Alirajpur
BHOPAL: At a time when Madhya Pradesh government is incurring the wrath of farmers following successive crop failures, low return on yield and drought, kin of about 400 marginalised farmers from the tribal dominated Alirajpur district are waiting to get their insurance death claims.
These farmers died years ago, but the kin are struggling to get the claim as promised. Their families now feel cheated.
The reason for delay in settlement of claims worth Rs 2.5 crore in the district is due to lack of coordination between the government agency and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India that provided insurance cover.

Adam Singh, a resident of Alirajpur district said, his father, Sabria died four years ago. Adam Singh, who has three children, said he has been making rounds of different offices for claiming the insurance money for years now, but the concerned agencies seem to be least interested. The question now is not how problem of my life will get solved if we gets the money, but, is of loot perpetrated upon the poor farmers, he added.
The incident of unsettled insurance claims came to light during the public hearing of the then district collector in 2014. Thereafter, the matter was taken up at various levels by the district and state authorities.
However, if the insurance company officials are to be believed, the claim may be settled soon. The agencies concerned interacted on Monday to settle the loan at its earliest.
LIC had provided group insurance cover to the farmers while
Jila Sahakari Kendriya Bank, Jhabua was the nodal agency that did the insurance of farmers associated with Adim Jati Sewa Sahakari Sansthas in the Alirajpur district. These societies paid premiums for the farmer group insurance scheme, which covered each loanee farmers.
The then Alirajpur collector, Shekhar Verma tod TOI, after coming across a case of unsettled death claim during public hearing, I conducted a camp to find out how many such claims are pending. It came to light that there were over 500 such claims in the district. I took up the matter at district as well as at the state level. To my view, the insurance firm should not only clear the dues at the earliest, but also pay compound interest to the families of deceased farmers.
On the other hand, LIC Zonal Manager, Bhopal, Mukesh Gupta said the delay in settling the claims was due to the nodal agency. LIC settles all its claims at the earliest. There was a delay in this case as details were not provided by the nodal agency side. The process to settle the claims is underway and we hope it would be settled within a month, he added.
The insurance firm also claimed that it has already made payments in some cases and had contacted officials in Jhabua on Monday to get the records and settle the claims.
Rajesh Rathore in-charge officer of the insurance section under the Jila Sahakari Kendriya Bank Maryadit, Jhabua— the nodal agency in this case— did not agree with LIC’s stand. He said all the documents were sent on time. There was some confusion at the insurance company level regarding the policy due to which claim settlement was delayed. Later, I was told that they have sought permission from their head office and we have been asked to send the documents again, which we will do in the next few days. The premium paid and number of people insured were different for different years, he added.
The present Alirajpur district collector, Ganesh Shankar Mishra too is aware of the issue. He said the records have been sent and the claims should be settled at the earliest
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