CSE report is wrong; TN enrolled maximum farmers, says TN Agriculture minister
Duraikannu also rejected suggestions that the farmers' protest in New Delhi was related to crop insurance.
Chennai: Agriculture minister R. Duraikannu on Monday termed the CSE report “wrong with misrepresented facts” saying Tamil Nadu has enrolled a record 15.35 lakh farmers in the scheme in the past year. He also said the state had created record of sorts by enrolling 15.35 lakh farmers in 2016-17.
Duraikannu also rejected suggestions that the farmers’ protest in New Delhi was related to crop insurance. “There is no connection between the protest in New Delhi and crop insurance. Their demands are waiving off loans availed in national banks and nationalization of rivers in the country,” he said.
Duraikannu told Deccan Chronicle that as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, small and medium farmers’ loans have been waived off and they form 90 per cent of the farming community. In 2015-2016, the state has enrolled nearly 3 lakh people in 2015-16 by spending Rs 403 crore.
“In 2016-2017, we have enrolled 15.35 lakh people in the insurance scheme and this is a record of sorts in the country. The report by CSE is wrong. During 2016-17, Rs 440 crore was disbursed from the state government’s quota,” the Minister said.
He also said three companies — Agricultural Insurance Company, ICICI Lombard and New India Assurance – have been paid Rs 880 crore by both Union and state governments in the past year for paying insurance to farmers.