T insures each farmer's life with Rs 5L

Telangana became the first State in the country to launch first of its kind free life insurance scheme for the farmers. The State Government on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in Hyderabad under which the State Government will pay the premium for all the policies of farmers and in case of death of any farmer due to any reason the LIC will pay Rs 5 lakh to his or her nominee.

Speaking on the occasion the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said there should not be any doubt that his Government was partial towards the farmers. “After the path breaking Ryhtu Bandhu scheme, this is another major step for the welfare of the farmers in Telangana”, he said.

Life Insurance Corporation Chairman VK Sharma lauding the insurance scheme for the farmers called the Chief Minister KCR a “friend of farmers and a visionary leader”.

“I am also from farmers family and worked in many parts of the country but have not seen a insurance scheme like this anywhere in the country”, Sharma said. He pointed out that LIC had already invested Rs 40,000 crore in Telangana.

The insurance scheme will cover all the farmers in the age group of 18 to 60. While under the Rythy Bandhu scheme, every farmer will get Rs 4000 investment support per acre per crop, the insurance scheme will help the family of any farmer after his death. “The purpose of both the schemes was only to see the farmers in the State happy”, KCR said. “the farmer who feeds the people should be satisfied. The country will progress only when the farmers are happy”.

The insurance scheme will come in  to effect from August 15 and in case of death of a farmer, his family will get the claim within ten days.

The Chief Minister directed the agricultural officers to ensure that the filled in form of every farmer was submitted to LIC before August 15 with the correct names of the insured person and his nominee and other details. He also wanted the officials to ensure that the farmers raise only those crops for which there was a demand in the market.

KCR said that he as a farmer had not taken the cash benefit under the Rythy Bandhu scheme and had asked the other famers with big income to do the same. “But now I will surely take the insurance scheme and ask all the farmers to take it”, he added. KCR said that if quality power was available, water is available and minimum support price was assured the farmers would not face any problem. “But unfortunately fixing the MSP for crops was not in the hands of the State Government”.

Quoting a report the Chief Minister said that of the 57 lakh farmers in the State, 89 per cent were happy with the Rythu Bandhu scheme. There were 32 lakh farmers who own 1 or 2 acres of land in the State.

Telangana already has made a name for various unique initiatives to help the farmers including the 24x7 free power supply.