NEW DELHI, April 3: Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in Meghalaya is witnessing a declining trend with no one from the state availing the benefit in 2021-22, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has said in Parliament.
In 2019-20 only 600 farmers applied for this vital scheme in the state and Rs 17.8 lakh were paid, the minister said. In the next year (2020-21) only 100 farmers applied for the scheme and only Rs 7.3 lakh were paid as claims but in 2021-22, the scheme was not implemented at all in the hill state, the minister told Shillong Lok Sabha member Vincent H. Pala in a written reply.
Pala wanted to know if there is widespread corruption with regard to the PMFBY implementation in the hill state.
The data came to light following a study conducted by an independent agency on the impact of the scheme three years after its implementation, Tomar said.
The selection of the insurance companies is done by the state governments through a transparent bidding process wherein the lowest bidder is awarded the cluster. The roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder are defined in the operational guidelines of the scheme for the proper execution of the scheme, Tomar said.
PMFBY was launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an insurance service for farmers for their yields. It was formulated in line with One Nation One Scheme theme by replacing earlier two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) by incorporating their best features and removing their inherent drawbacks.
It aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum.
