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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Crop insurance scheme: Centre, Bihar lock horns -Anand Mishra

Crop insurance scheme: Centre, Bihar lock horns -Anand Mishra

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published Published on Aug 8, 2016   modified Modified on Aug 8, 2016
-The Indian Express

State government says it won’t be able to foot the 50:50 share of bill.

Tussle is brewing between the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar and the NDA government at the Centre on the issue of the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Almost three-fourth of Bihar’s population is dependent on agriculture.

While the state has expressed its difficulty in meeting the financial burden of its share in the scheme, Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh, who hails from Bihar, has strongly objected to Nitish’s remarks that the scheme’s name should be changed to “PM-CM farmer insurance scheme” if states have to pay half the money. Nitish had also alleged that the agencies recommended by the Centre to insure farmers against crop loss have adopted a “partisan” policy towards Bihar on fixing the Minimum Average Weighted Premium rate.

Singh told The Indian Express: “Twenty-two states are implementing the scheme. In a number of states, the tender process has been completed. But no one has made such an absurd demand. I fail to understand the logic.”

“The mandate Nitish Kumar ji got is for chief ministership, but he is behaving as if he is the Prime Minister. I pray to God that the Bihar government gets the right sense and implements this scheme, which would benefit farmers,” Singh said.

He said it was “disturbing” that on June 14 this year, the Bihar government had asked banks to deduct the premium of crop insurance from farmers. “So while premiums have been deducted, the farmers are not availing the benefits,” Singh said.

When asked what could be the reason for the state government expressing inability to implement the scheme, Singh merely said, “reason lies elsewhere”.

Leader of Opposition in Bihar Legislative Council Sushil Kumar Modi said the BJP will launch a massive agitation against the state government if the scheme was not implemented.

“After the prohibition, the state government is facing a financial crisis. Hence it is making excuses not to implement this scheme. If the government did not intend to implement the scheme, why did the Cabinet issue a letter of commitment on May 26? Why did it ask banks to deduct the premium in June? The CM is now opposing the scheme as he feels the Prime Minister will get appreciation for it,” he said.

An effort to resolve the issue is likely to be made on Monday, when Bihar Cooperative Minister Alok Kumar Mehta is expected to call on the Union Agriculture Minister.

In a letter on August 1, Mehta had apprised Singh of the difficulties in implementing the scheme in Bihar. Claiming that a higher insurance premium had been fixed for Bihar in comparison to other states, the state government had asked the Centre to extend financial support to meet the state share.

In reply, Singh had said the scheme was launched after detailed deliberations with states, including Bihar.

Mehta had recently said in Assembly that Bihar will not implement the scheme as it was financially not possible for the state to follow the 50:50 sharing formulae between Centre and states.

He said the state cannot bear the share of its expenditure — around Rs 650 crore. Nitish too had raised the issue at the recent Inter-State Council meet and said the scheme was skewed against Bihar.

In Rajya Sabha, the Agriculture Minister has informed that that 22 states, barring Bihar and Punjab, have implemented the scheme. He said Bihar has been left out as the CM had some reservations and the state has not issued the necessary notification.

The Indian Express, 8 August, 2016, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/crop-assurance-farmer-nitish-kumar-bihar-insurance-scheme-2960418/


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