Crop insurance shocker: Maharashtra farmers receive up to Rs 5 as relief

MUMBAI: Over 2,000 farmers in a tehsil in Maharashtra have received crop insurance compensation ranging from Rs1 to Rs5 each, an official said. While 773 farmers got Rs1 each as compensation, 669 farmers received Rs2 each from the insurance company. Rs3 each were deposited into the bank accounts of 50 farmers, while 702 farmers received Rs4 each and 39 got Rs5 each as compensation towards crop damage. The development comes amid the claim by the BJP-ruled state government about submission of the highest number of applications for crop insurance from the district in which this tehsil is located. The Beed District Central Cooperative Bank released a list of beneficiaries which lists names of farmers and the crop insurance compensation they have received. Over 2000 farmers who have received the meagre crop insurance amount hail from Kej tehsil in Beed district. The amount has been deposited into their bank accounts, the official said. In April, officials from the district were felicitated for enrolling 11,68,359 farmers under the Centre’s crop insurance scheme. It was announced this was the largest number of enrolments in state. In Kej tehsil, 15,691 farmers paid Rs51.42 lakh to buy the insurance.