Government today acknowledged in Rajya Sabha that there are problems in effective implementation of Crop Insurance Scheme and warned of cancelling the licences of companies if such a request is received from any state government.
At the same time, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh rubbished Congress claim that more farmers had committed suicide during the 10-month Narendra Modi government than since Independence and countered by saying that 1.22 lakh members of agriculture community had ended their lives between 2006 and 2013, during UPA rule.
The House saw the entire Opposition, led by Congress, staging a walkout, dissatisfied with Singh’s reply to a debate on ‘Agrarian crisis and farmers’ suicide’
In his reply, the Minister listed a series of measures taken by the government to end the farmers’ plight, including efforts to bring more farm land under irrigation.
However, he admitted that there are problems in effective implementation of Crop Insurance Scheme as he responded to concerns voiced by members about inadequate benefits to farmers from it.