'Irregularities found in crop insurance scheme, shrines shown as farmlands'

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate has admitted irregularities in the implementation of the Re 1 crop insurance scheme for farmers noting places of worship were shown as agricultural lands to claim benefits reported news agency PTIMore than four lakh crop insurance applications some filed even by those residing outside Maharashtra have been rejected Kokate on Tuesday said adding a bogus industry has come to light which involves noneligible people seeking benefits of the schemeThe minister however asserted that no money has been actually lost as funds were not transferred by the government into the bank accounts linked to bogus applications reported PTISpeaking to the media here Kokate said instances of malpractice in the scheme have been identified in several aspects including cases where mosques temples and vacant lands were falsely declared as agricultural lands to claim benefitsI have instructed district collectors to take immediate action he said reported PTIThe crop insurance scheme was introduced in the 2023 budget by the then deputy chief minister and finance minister Devendra Fadnavis Under the scheme farmers can get crop insurance for just Re 1Before the scheme farmers had to pay the company 2 per cent of the insurance premiumThe agriculture department had received several complaints from farmers about the schemes implementation chiefly on grounds of nonpayment of the insurance amount as well as mismatch of recordsAgriculture Secretary Vikaschandra Rastogi later headed a committee which compiled the complaints and conducted a probed into themKokate said Over four lakh crop insurance applications were rejected across the state Some of these applications were filed by people from outside Maharashtra We have taken significant steps to address the irregularities Farmers will be issued unique ID cards linked to Aadhaar to ensure transparency reported PTIAn updated database of farmers is being prepared the minister said adding that significant reforms will be introduced in the schemeAsked how the largescale bogus claims could be made Kokate attributed much of the malpractice to certain Common Service Centres CSCs where people involved in data entry of details of farmers are paid Rs 40 per application reported PTIThe operators of such centres filed bogus applications to earn more We have ordered action against 96 such centres he saidThe minister however said not all farmers are to be blamed for the irregularities and asserted the scheme will remain in forceThis detection of corruption does not mean the scheme should be shut down The flaws will be corrected to make the scheme more transparent the NCP minister assured reported PTIHe said actions were taken in recent days and the issue will be discussed in the state cabinetIf changes are needed in the scheme we will study them and present the matter in the cabinet Ultimately all decisions regarding the scheme will be taken there he opined reported PTIIn response to assertions that only Beed district in central Maharashtra witnessed irregularities Kokate dismissed them as politically motivatedThe government has saved funds by rejecting bogus applications and no money was transferred into the accounts linked to these invalid applications he saidMeanwhile BJP leader and former state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said it would be incorrect to label the Re 1 crop insurance scheme as flawed reported PTIWe have taken Rs 1551 crore worth of insurance for farmers If any company provides 80 per cent compensation for losses our contribution decreases Beyond 100 to 120 per cent losses we bear the full burden Today the farm sector requires a mission akin to Mission Jai Kisan It is essential to focus seriously on this area Mungantiwar said reported PTIMaharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole talking about an alleged crop insurance scam in Beed district claimed insurance for barren land was fraudulently claimed resulting in irregularities to the tune of Rs 350 crore reported PTIHe accused insurance companies and the Mahayuti government of being hand in glove to exploit funds meant for farmersWhile farmers have not received compensation the insurance companies have profited significantly by looting their funds Patole alleged reported PTICabinet Minister for Water Resources Godavari and Krishna Valley Development Corp Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil batted for continuation of the schemeThe scheme was launched by Fadnavis and it has proved to be helpful to farmers Some people are unnecessarily speculating on scrapping the scheme because of some allegations No such plan or proposal is before the state government he told reporters in PuneWith inputs from PTI