When cover for farmers came a cropper

Farmers of Jalna district in Aurangabad Division of Maharashtra, who planted pomegranate, mango and sweet lime in the 2017 kharif season and lost their crop because of a drought are in a state of despair. Despite coughing up premiums for the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), they have not received a penny from the insurance company, which contends that the relevant papers have not reached it. However, the SBI branch through which the farmers tendered the premium refutes the contention of the insurance company.

Caught in this game of ‘passing the buck’, farmers are fast losing hope of getting their compensation in the near future.

The distress of the 140-odd farmers is understandable as there is hardly any redress mechanism available to them. In a bid to understand the core issue better, this writer reached out to the farmers, the SBI branch in Badnapur and the representative of the insurance company, IFFCO Tokio.

Farmers’ angst

The excessive reliance on the fickle weather conditions has left farmers high and dry in this arid Marathwada region. The story of Raisingh Zendusingh Sundrde from Rajawadi Village in Badnapur, Jalna, perhaps best explains this. Awarded as the best mosambi  farmer in the area in 2016, Sundrde soon ran out of luck and suffered huge crop losses in 2017. Despite taking cover under the PMFBY, he is now caught in a debt trap. For the 20 acres split between him and his brothers, he paid a premium of about ₹32,000 through the SBI branch in Badnapur in 2017. “I actually borrowed from a money-lender at 4 per cent monthly interest to pay the premium and am now neck-deep in trouble,” laments Sundrde.

The insurance for that particular season was handled by IFFCO Tokio for the region.

Ramdas Shesharao Bhargaje, a farmer who has two hectares and had insured his mango crop, is also in the same boat. “I paid the premium for my crop to IFFCO Tokio through SBI, but didn’t get any payment. Farmers who paid through other banks or through the CSC (Common Service Centre) have been paid the claim.”

The amount of premium paid by the 140 farmers of the area totals ₹9.76 lakh. All of them have paid through the SBI branch.

“I get suicidal instincts sometimes…if I go to the bank to enquire, the manager doesn’t speak properly; he doesn’t give respect…” says Sundrde.

What the SBI branch says

The farmers in the area had joined together and had lodged a complaint with SBI and also the District Collector, but no action has been taken.

When BusinessLine visited the SBI branch in Badnapur, the manager didn’t offer much help. “We don’t know! We sent all documents and premium as and when we received them. We don’t know anything else about this…”

Curiously, the manager had no information of the insurer or any representative who could clarify on the matter.

BusinessLine tracked the representative of the insurance company concerned and reached out to him on phone. “We didn’t get the documents of the farmers on time, so we didn’t process their claims,” was his reply.

No solution in the near term

With no office set up by the private insurer — IFFCO Tokio — in the district, farmers running from pillar to post — from bank branches to government agencies — have little hope of the issue getting resolved.

Though the missing documents have now finally reached the insurer, it doesn’t look like the farmers will receive their settlement.

“Only now the bank has sent the documents. But we can’t settle the claims now as we haven’t received government subsidy for these farmers,” states the same IFFCO Tokio representative.

According to the guidelines for the PMFBY, if there has been incorrect/partial/non-uploading of details on the national crop insurance portal due to which insurance has been denied, the banks concerned will be held responsible for the payment of claims. But in this case, SBI has washed its hands off the issue.

After over a year of struggle, the farmers are despondent. It is shocking that policies taken over a year back are still pending settlement for want of documents. Government norms mandate that crop insurance payments are settled within 45 days. But, then, there is no redress system in place to ensure that the timeline is met and action is taken against the the banks or insurers.

(to be continued)