NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAPS

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Subscribe
Follow us Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
For latest updates on nCOVID-19 around the world visit our INTERACTIVE COVID MAP
Agriculture
Elections 2019
Politics
India

Thousands of Farmers Take to Streets in Gujarat, Call Modi’s Crop Insurance Scheme Biggest Scam

The problem has been particularly acute in Saurashtra and the North Gujarat region, which is currently witnessing a severe drought.
Sumedha Pal
15 Apr 2019
Thousands of Farmers Take to Streets in Gujarat,

Image for representational use only.Image Courtesy : NDTV

With Gujarat all set to go to polls on April 23, the failure of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, could spell out doom for Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, with farmers up in arms against the state government.

In the past two weeks, thousands of farmers have staged protests across the state over non payment of their claims. The problem has been particularly acute in Saurashtra and the North Gujarat region, which is currently witnessing a severe drought. The drought has spread across the areas of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Junagadh, Porbandar, Jamnagar, among others where protesting farmers have organised rallies and submitted memorandum to the authorities.

Speaking to NewsClick, Arun Mehta of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) in Gujarat said, “There are over 3,500 farmers who are still awaiting compensation and are struggling to make ends meet. The farmers paid a premium of over 25%, however, now in the time of dire need, they are getting no returns. This is a total hand in glove approach, where the insurance firms are milking profits at the cost of the livelihoods of the farmers. To us the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is not a scheme but a scandal.”

The non payment of crop insurance is likely to emerge as a major election issue, when one looks at the total numbers of farmers seeking payments across the state, which reportedly run in millions.

In 2016, private insurance companies collected Rs. 2,360 crore as premium for the entire state against which only claims worth Rs. 954 crore were settled. However, farmers on the ground believe that private companies have not even approved 20% of the total claims submitted by the farmers in the region, perpetuating their suffering and minting profits. Mehta added, “The crop insurance premium burden is shared 49% each by the State and the Centre, while the remaining 2% is to be borne by the farmers.” The companies have bailed out on farmers, who are the most vulnerable at the moment, coming from scarcity hit areas.

Prime Minister Modi’s most ambitious project, PMFBY, launched in 2016, was oriented towards providing crop insurance to farmers, that is, if the crop fails due to some non-preventable reason, such as weather calamity etc., then the farmers will be compensated for this loss.

But instead of coming up with a robust government-led compensation mechanism, the Modi government has turned the loss of farmers into a profit making enterprise, rife with delayed compensation, widespread complaints of delays in claim settlement and receipt of payment have been reported right from the first season when PMFBY was implemented. Delays of as long as three to four months were common. This is catastrophic for the farmers who have suffered losses because they need the money to start their next season’s preparation immediately. Any delay forces them into the clutching arms of money-lenders, who charge exorbitant rates. The failure of the scheme and the ongoing momentum on the ground among the farmers could now prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the BJP, as far as farmers’ votes are concerned.

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
PMFBY
Narendra Modi
Farmers India
Election 2019
crop insurance
crop failure
BJP
Congress
CITU
AIKS
Related Stories
Amartya Sen

Bengal Shouldn't Choose Powers with Defective Record of Social Justice, Economic Policies: Amartya Sen

BJP Leaders Indifferent to COVID-19 Crisis

BJP Leaders Indifferent to COVID-19 Crisis?

Election Commission

Bengal Elections: Why EC’s Referee Conduct Leaves Much to be Desired

UdhhavThackrey

COVID-19: Politics over Acute Shortage of Oxygen and Remdesivir in Maharashtra

What a BJP Victory in Bengal Would Mean for India

What a BJP Victory in Bengal Would Mean for India – a Step Closer to Hindu Rashtra

BJP MSME

Non-Official Members of Newly Constituted MSME Board Primarily BJP-RSS Affiliates: Report

West Bengal Polls: In the Hills, Compulsions Dictate Local Outfits’ Decisions

West Bengal Polls: In the Hills, Compulsions Dictate Local Outfits’ Decisions

Bengal Elections: There’s a Triangular Contest; Strong Undercurrent Against TMC, BJP: BK Hariprasad

Bengal Elections: There’s a Triangular Contest; Strong Undercurrent Against TMC, BJP: BK Hariprasad

As India jostles with second COVID-19 wave, it must introduce minimum basic income programme

As India Jostles With Second COVID-19 Wave, It Must Introduce Minimum Basic Income Programme

KTK Transport Strike

Karnataka: ‘Thaalis Banged’ on Sixth Day of KSRTC Workers Strike

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share

Related Stories

Rabindra Nath Sinha

‘Palpable Curiosity about West Bengal Polls in Bangladesh’: Dhaka Intelligentsia

21 April 2021
Call it curiosity or interest, it is visibly palpable in Bangladesh as peop
Subhash Gatade

What Happens When Faith Overrides Sense?

20 April 2021
It was 1527, and Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, wrote a letter advising a Lutheran leader what a believer should
Dipanjan Sinha

What a BJP Victory Would Mean for Bengal – a Step Closer to Hindu Rashtra

19 April 2021
In this exclusive interview, Prof Partha Chatterjee, political scientist, former Director, Centre for Studies in Social Studies, Calcutta, and

Pagination

  • Next page ››

More

  • Oxygen

    Economic Interests Can’t Override Human Lives, Cut Down Industrial use of Oxygen Now: HC

  • Administrative Failure at Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve

    Administrative Failure at Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve

  • Jawahira Bano at her home in Frisal village of Kulgam.

    Ailing Couple Struggles to Survive in Kashmir as Daughter Booked on ‘Terror Charges’

  • Heartless Lockdown

    COVID-19: Lockdowns Are Back - What About Our ‘V-shaped’ Recovery?

  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with
about