Will revert to National Agricultural Insurance Scheme: CM
Jayalalithaa said that the then Union government led by Manmohan Singh changed the scheme as part of its cost cutting initiatives and it also turned down the appeals made by her government. (Photo: DC/File)
Chennai: Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Saturday said that Tamil Nadu would revert to the old National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) instead of the National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP), implemented by the previous UPA regime.
In a statement, Ms Jayalalithaa said that the then Union government led by Manmohan Singh changed the scheme as part of its cost cutting initiatives and it also turned down the appeals made by her government.
The BJP-led Centre has, in principle, accepted the state’s plea to implement the old farm insurance scheme for the current year. The reversal will help boost the farming sector in the state, which is susceptible to losses due to the vagaries of monsoon and climatic changes, she pointed out.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa recalled her letter to the then PM Manmohan Singh early this year and said her communiqué had no response despite explaining that Tamil Nadu farmers were being affected and wanted to revert to the old insurance scheme. The new revised scheme by the UPA coalition government was designed on ‘low insurance cover and high premium policy’, affecting farmers.
Moreover, the state governments were not taken into account by the Central government while revising the crop insurance policies that connect with the livelihood of farmers, she explained.
The previous government introduced the NCIP scheme to reduce its contribution during crop failures and the new scheme was designed, based on region-specific crop failures, she said. The NAIS, with state government contributions, would cover the samba rice crop and other crops planted during the rabi season in 2014, the statement read.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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