Telangana: State’s Crop Insurance Deadline Approaches Fast

Hyderabad: The state government has about nine days left to keep its promise of relaunching the crop insurance scheme that was halted by the previous BRS regime. For crops like paddy and chilli, the cut-off date for paying the premium for insurance under the centrally-sponsored PM Fasal Bima Yojana is August 31.

Failure to join the scheme will deny the state funds made available by the Centre through the 15th Finance Commission for disaster management. States will get Rs.1,44,800 crore from the Centre for disaster management between 2020 and 2026. To use them, states have to pay Rs.6,800 crore. Crop losses hover around Rs.5,000 crore on average in Telangana.

With climatic changes impacting farmers, experts have emphasised the need to have a functional crop insurance scheme. Schemes like weather-based insurance allow compensation if the rain fails for 15 days, or in case of excess rain.

The BRS had walked out of the PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in 2020 stating that farmers were not receiving even half the sum as compensation that the government was paying as premium to join the scheme.

It did not launch its own scheme, like other states that walked out of the PMFBY did, but entered into a slugfest with the Centre without utilising the State Disaster Response Force funds at its disposal. The state government also chose to go on appeal to the Supreme Court after the High Court ordered payment of compensation, said B. Kondal Reddy, from Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV).

“A major pitfall was the failure to provide loans before the cut-off dates for paying the premium,” said Sarampally Malla Reddy, All India Kisan Sabha state vice-president.

The cut-off dates for kharif crop is July 31, rabi December 31 and for crops like paddy and chilli, August 31. The PMFBY was available to farmers who took crop loans from banks with a premium paid by them. The Congress had promised to launch the scheme as part of its poll promise with the government paying the full premium, Malla Reddy said.

Reimbursing the farmers for crop losses is critical to stopping suicides, Malla Reddy said.

If the scheme is not taken up, compensation will have to be given without assessing actual crop damage, Kondal Reddy said.

“It has been a month since the exercise to elicit opinions on Rythu Bandhu was taken up. Even today they are saying they will study the model of other states. Tenant farmers will be left in the lurch as they have not been identified yet,” he said.

“Farmers have suffered enormous losses due to lack of crop insurance and disaster relief under the BRS government. The Congress government should fix the shortcomings of the PMFBY to make it more beneficial,” said Kiran Vissa from RSV.