Haryana: After losses, insurance firms shy away from rabi cover

Tribune News Service

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, January 19

The rabi crops in Cluster-II of Haryana comprising Ambala, Karnal, Sonepat, Hisar, Jind, Mahendergarh and Gurugram will not get any insurance cover for the 2023-24 season as none of the insurance firms has been selected to insure the crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

Last yr Premium: Rs 304 cr I claims: Rs 515 cr

Sources said the last kharif crop had cost dearly to the insurance firm in Cluster II of the state. The firm received a total premium of Rs 304 crore, while it had to pay crop insurance claims of around Rs 515 crore

According to sources, the Agriculture Department has floated tenders for hiring an insurance firm as the implementing agency for the PMFBY for the Rabi season 2023-24 to 2025-26 in Cluster-II, in November 2023. An official said one private insurance firm had applied for the insurance, but with the deadline for the insurance of rabi crops having already expired, none of the firms had come forward to provide insurance cover for the rabi crops.

An official in the Agriculture Department said the banks which used to deduct the premium from Kisan credit cards and other bank accounts of the loanee farmers had been told not to deduct the premium amount this rabi season. As per the existing system, the banks automatically used to deduct the premium from the bank accounts of the loanee farmers, which was paid to the insurance firms assigned the particular cluster under the PMFBY.

Dilip Singh Rathod, a farmer of Kirtan village, said the state government had botched up the crop insurance scheme. “It is a good scheme for the farmers who want to get their crops insured for the damage due to various reasons,” he said.

The Deputy Director of Agriculture Department, Hisar, Dr Rajbir Singh, confirmed that so far, they had no information about any crop insurance firm that would give insurance cover for rabi crops in Cluster II in Hisar.

The sources said the last kharif crop had cost dearly to the insurance firm in Cluster II. The sources said, the insurance firm got a total premium of Rs 304 crore but had to pay the claim of about Rs 515 crore.

Approximately, 2.55 lakh hectare of the rabi crops were insured in Cluster II during the last rabi season. The rabi crops, including wheat and mustard besides gram, barley and sunflower, are covered under the PMFBY. In Hisar district, about one lakh farmers had got about 1.3 lakh hectare of rabi crop, which included about one lakh acres wheat insured in the 2022-23 rabi season.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

#Ambala #Gurugram #Hisar #Jind #Karnal #Sonepat