Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla highlighted issues with the crop insurance scheme for farmers, noting that insurance companies were failing to provide adequate compensation. This issue affects a large number of farmers across the country. Shukla pointed out flaws in the scheme, citing examples from various states. In Maharashtra, for instance, farmers received meager compensation ranging from Rs 3 to Rs 21 after their crops were damaged.
Shukla emphasized the importance of the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance Scheme, designed to help farmers protect their crops from natural disasters by paying a small premium. However, he noted that in cases like floods in Bareilly district, farmers faced minimal compensation amounts as low as Rs 2.62. The situation led Shukla to question how farmers could sustain themselves with such inadequate funds for essentials like seeds, diesel, and pesticides.
The Congress leader criticized the inefficiencies in the insurance process, highlighting delays in crop verification, technical issues with claim portals, and discrepancies in compensation calculations. He raised concerns about the disparity between the premiums paid by farmers and the profits reaped by insurance companies. Shukla called for reforms to ensure timely settlement of claims, transparent damage assessments, and fair compensation for farmers, urging accountability from insurance providers.
