PMFBY a bogus scheme: CM

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Friday termed the Centre's crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), as a 'bogus scheme' saying that it benefitted only insurance companies and not the farmers who suffered crop losses on account of natural disasters.

It is for these reasons that Telangana and several other states in the country including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own state Gujarat had opted out of this scheme, the Chief Minister said. He made these comments in the Legislative Assembly when a few members raised the issue of farmers in Telangana suffering huge losses due to recent heavy rains on account of Cyclone Gulab and when members opined that the farmers could have claimed compensation had Telangana implemented PMFBY.

“There are a lot of shortcomings in PMFBY which need to be rectified to ensure that the benefits of crop insurance reach the farmers. It's unscientific and a bogus scheme. During assessment for crop insurance, the claim is approved only if an entire village or mandal gets affected by rains or any other natural calamities. Individual farmers, who suffer losses in a particular village or mandal are denied crop insurance," Rao said.

Farmers were forced to pay premium individually to insurance companies but when it came to settling claims, the companies took the entire village or mandal as a unit, which was ridiculous, he added.

"Banks directly deduct premium amounts from farmers while disbursing crop loans. What is the use when farmers don't get claims for crop losses from insurance companies individually like health insurance or vehicle insurance?" he asked.

The Chief Minister also slammed the Centre for negligence in releasing input subsidies to states to pay compensation for farmers for crop loss. "The Centre has made this whole process a ridiculous affair. Whenever heavy rains occur in any state and suffer losses, the Centre asks states to send preliminary reports on crop losses. The Centre then sends a team to states to assess the damage, and often, these teams turn up very late. At times, they come after three or four months. By then, the farmers sow the next crop. What will be left to see then?" he asked.

He said the farmers, the state government and the Centre would contribute their share of premium to insurance companies under PMFBY. From 2016-17 to 2019-20, farmers in Telangana paid a premium of Rs 705 crore, while the state government contributed its share of Rs 866 crore and the Centre Rs 866 crore totalling Rs 2,437 crore but farmers received claims for only Rs 1,795 crore despite suffering huge losses due to heavy rains and flash floods during this period, he said.