No farmer should be deprived of 'Bangla Shasya Bima' scheme, says minister
KOLKATA: Determined to ensure that not a single genuine farmer is deprived of the 'Bangla Shasya Bima' (crop Insurance) scheme initiated by the state government, Agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay chaired a virtual meeting with concerned officials of his department on Thursday and took some important measures for further streamlining the process.
“There is a time frame for application in connection with the crop insurance scheme. But there have been instances when farmers have not applied during that specific time frame. In our agreement with Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC) through which the insurance claim is disbursed, we have made provisions that a farmer even if he applies later than the earmarked time should get the benefits, if the application is genuine in nature,”Chattopadhyay said.
The insurance is provided on the basis of remote sensing satellite data acquisition technology of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that was introduced from the Kharif season in 2020.“We will now carry out a joint inspection involving our officials and AIC after the satellite imaging and accordingly the insurance amount will be disbursed,” Chattopadhyay said. He maintained that in case of certain crops like potato, the satellite imaging does not provide the proper nature of the crop damage.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had introduced the 'Bangla Shasya Bima' to help farmers get their yield insured in case of damage due to natural calamities. . In a bid to help the marginal farmers also to reap its benefit, the government also pays the premium on behalf of every beneficiary under the scheme.
Farmers in Bengal get compensation for rabi crops if paddy and maize cultivation is damaged while they get the same for 12 crops of kharif cultivation. During Kharif 2021, 74 lakh farmers derived the benefits of the scheme.
‘There is a time frame for application in connection with the crop insurance scheme. But there have been instances when farmers have not applied during that specific time frame..’