Farmers got Rs 2,800 cr under PM crop insurance plan: Minister

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that as against a collection of over Rs 5,800 crore towards the premium in two years, insurance companies have settled claims worth Rs 2,800 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Crop Insurance Scheme.

While the Congress alleged the BJP government is helpless against insurance firms, Agriculture Minister R C Faldu claimed the government is 'fighting' with these companies to get compensation for farmers in case of crop damage.

Responding to a question by Amit Chavda (Congress) during the Question Hour, Faldu said a total of seven companies had collected a premium of Rs 5,862 crore during the last two years from state and Central governments, each sharing equal amount of Rs 2,931 crore.

As against the collection of Rs 5,862 crore towards premium, these seven companies had disbursed compensation of Rs 2,892 crore in two years.

Asked what action the state government took to ensure that farmers get adequate compensation, Faldu, in his written reply, said the government had asked insurance firms to adhere to guidelines of the scheme and take necessary action.

Responding to a specific question regarding Banaskantha, Faldu admitted that as many as 648 groundnut- growing farmers in the district were yet to get compensation for the kharif-2019 season.

During the debate in the House, Congress MLAs accused the BJP government of going soft on insurance firms which according to them are not paying the compensation despite collecting a premium of thousands of crores of rupees.

Notably, the Central government had recently made this contentious scheme 'optional' for farmers.

Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, Faldu said farmers were paid Rs 5,120.09 crore under the crop insurance scheme during the last three years.

For the kharif-2019, claims worth Rs 100.91 crore were already settled, he said.