The much-publicized Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has come under the scanner of the Punjab and Haryana high court, which on Friday issued notice to the Centre, Haryana and private insurance companies on a plea that the scheme was launched to benefit certain industrial houses. Directions have been sought to quash the PMFBY and the notifications issued by the Haryana government regarding its implementation in the state. According to petitioner, the private insurance companies have collected total amount of Rs 252.35 crore from farmers, state and central government, while their liability to pay farmers is limited to around Rs 20 crore only. They have alleged that the amount forcibly transferred from the accounts of farmers for insurance to companies was illegal and liable to be refunded along with interest to the farmers.A division bench headed by Justice S S Saron has taken cognizance of the matter after hearing a public interest petition filed by Gurnam Singh Chaduni , president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Haryana, and a large number of farmers from the state.Those who have been asked to file reply on the issue includes Union agriculture secretary, Haryana agriculture secretary, managing directors of ICICI LOMBARD, GIC Ltd, Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited, and State Level Bankers Committee. They have been asked to file their reply by January 31, 2017.Petitioners told the court that on June 17, 2016, the state government had issued a notification regarding implementation of PMFBY in the state. As per the notification, kharif crops such as cotton, paddy, bajra and maize were considered while wheat, mustard, barley and gram were being considered among rabi crops to be covered under the scheme.The premium for each crop in each season has to be 2% for the kharif and 1.5% for rabi crop to be paid by the farmers and premium above this percentage is to be paid by the state and the central government.It was stated by the petitioners that without calling for the proposals from the farmers and the land record from the revenue department, and without following the instructions of the Reserve Bank of India , the banks have been deducting the amount of premium from the respective accounts of the farmers."Neither any consent for deduction of the amount of premium was taken from the farmers nor any proposal as mandated by the RBI was obtained nor land records were obtained or inspected. Even the farmers were not contacted or consulted. Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com