Chandigarh, July 30 -- Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday alleged that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has failed to benefit farmers and instead enriched private insurance companies at their expense.
Hooda claimed the crop insurance scheme had become "a deception" for farmers, alleging that the number of beneficiaries had fallen from around 24 lakh in 2018-19 to nearly 11 lakh in 2024-25. He also criticised the state government for issuing the Kharif crop insurance notification on July 24, instead of the usual June 20-25 period, leaving nearly 11.20 lakh farmers barely a week to register.
He demanded an extension of the registration deadline and urged the government to clear all pending compensation without delay. Hooda also questioned why insurance premiums had increased while compensation paid to farmers had declined over the years.
Citing figures shared by Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ramnath Thakur, Hooda said Haryana farmers received crop insurance claims worth Rs 2,518.66 crore in 2022-23, which fell sharply to Rs 265.23 crore in 2023-24 and further to Rs 262.6 crore in 2024-25.
According to him, insurance companies collected premiums of Rs 648.1 crore in 2023-24 but paid claims of only Rs 265.23 crore, while in 2024-25 they received Rs 1,056.7 crore in premiums from farmers and the Centre and state governments combined, against claims of Rs 262.6 crore.
Alleging that insurance firms were profiting at the cost of farmers and the public exchequer, Hooda said claim settlement lacked transparency, with farmers having no representation in crop loss assessment committees.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.