MLAs slam scheme for farmers

The state Assembly got adjourned twice after Opposition created ruckus in the House over the crop insurance scheme with legislators claiming it did not benefit farmers.

The state Assembly got adjourned twice after Opposition created ruckus in the House over the crop insurance scheme with legislators claiming it did not benefit farmers.

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The Opposition rushed into the well of the House after Minister of State for Agriculture Gulabrao Devkar told the House that it was not possible for the state to amend the scheme.

The crop insurance scheme provides insurance cover and financial support to farmers in case of natural calamities and pests. Devkar said the national crop insurance scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme and it is implemented in all states.

Legislators across party lines pointed out that the crop insurance scheme had a faulty methodology. While the scheme collected premium for the policy from individual farmers, the insurance cover was worked out for a group leading to only marginal benefit to individuals.

Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse suggested that the scheme should be amended to include individual cover. “When the farmers have to be paid the insurance amount, it is on a group basis in the talathi (revenue division area),’’ said Khadse, terming the practice unfair.