Mumbai: Faced with widespread protests from farmers in the State, the government has extended application deadline for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) for the kharif season till July 31 to accommodate thousands of farmers who don’t have loans against their names.
A large number of such farmers who had applied under the scheme have complained of not receiving the correct insurance claims. Most affected are farmers who sowed soyabean crop in last year’s kharif season.
Earlier this month, 11,000 farmers claimed they had either not received or were given lesser amounts against insurance claims from the government-appointed insurance company. The claims were related to soyabean and other kharif crops for 2017 due to the government not implementing PMFBY guidelines. “The window for including non-loanee farmers for this year’s kharif season has been extended till July 31 from the previous cut-off date of July 25,” a State Agriculture Department official said. The deadline for farmers with loans against their names has already been extended to July 31.
Farmers claim that despite a deadline extension last year, those who paid premiums on the last date weren’t included in the beneficiaries list. In a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Shiv Sena MP from Parbhani Sanjay Jadhav highlighted their plight, saying the situation is leading to farmer unrest.
Officials said the technical glitches and other grievances were into account before extending the deadline for these farmers.