Delta farmers have sought direct disbursement of the crop insurance compensation on the lines of the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

Pointing out that implementation of the scheme under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) method has resulted in the beneficiaries receiving the annual income support amount without any hassle, they want the benefits of the crop insurance scheme also disbursed through the DBT mode.

At present, crop insurance companies release the compensation amount to the State government, which disburses the amount to eligible farmers through its administration network resulting in considerable delay in payment to farmers, said Sundara Vimalanathan, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Protection Association (TCFPA) .

Recently, TCFPA approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking its direction to the State government for early disbursement of crop insurance compensation, if any, declared by the insurance companies for 2021-22.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Chief Minister, M. K. Stalin kicked off the disbursement exercise for 2021-22 in Chennai, where 4,42,734 farmers would receive ₹481 crore towards crop loss, including paddy, suffered by them during the special crop season.

The compensation amount excluded the crop loss suffered by non-Cauvery delta farmers who took up kuruvai cultivation during the 2021-22 season since ₹18 crore had been disbursed to 21,125 farmers separately.

At this juncture, the Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations in Tamil Nadu has expressed its dissatisfaction over the crop insurance compensation amount declared by the insurance companies for 2021-22 special season.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, committee president P .R .Pandian regretted that though the farmers suffered a heavy loss during the last samba (special season), the insurance companies had preferred to release a compensation amount that was not one-fifth of the total insurance premium paid by the farmers and the governments.

He added that the declaration of low compensation benefits led to the suspicion that the government was favouring insurance companies instead of saving the farmers from falling into the debt trap.

Source - https://www.thehindu.com