MP farmers get one rupee compensation for crop harm

PM’s crop insurance scheme becomes butt of ridicule for them

Prime Minister’s crop insurance scheme has come as a cruel joke for several farmers in Madhya Pradesh as some of them have received a measly `1 as relief for damages to their yields under the programme.

Kaushalya Devi of Satornia village under Sehore district and Pooranlal of Gondhana village under Betul district have received `1 as compensation for damage to their crops in 2019. They were among 22 lakh beneficiaries in the state.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the insurance amounts to these farmers a couple of days ago.

Similarly, Mulia Bai of Shyampur village under Sehore district has received `4 as relief for crop damage she had suffered in 2019, while Puspa

● CHIEF MINISTER Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the insurance amounts to these farmers a couple of days ago.

Bai of Chhapri village under the same district got `7.

Radhashyam, Bholaram, Mangilal and Amit Parmar of Sehore district have received `16, `18, `18 and `23 respectively, according to executive president of the state unit of Kisan Congress Kedar Serohi.

“There are thousands of farmers in the state whose insurance amounts were less than `100. We are compiling data on farmers who have received ridiculously meagre amounts under the scheme to take up their cases with the government”, he added.

A senior officer in the state agriculture department told Deccan Chronicle, on condition of anonymity, that a directive has been issued by the government to insurance companies to probe into such cases.

“The issue has come to the notice of the state government. The state agriculture department has asked the insurance company to go deeper into the matter”, he added.

Meanwhile, Chouhan has indicated that plans are afoot to fix a minimum honorarium, under the scheme to avoid such embarrassing situations.