Telangana: Farmers yet to get insurance claims

Hyderabad: While it is curtains for the ongoing Kharif season in three days, farmers in TS are yet to get insurance claim for damages caused to their crops last year.

The government is yet to assess the damage caused to crops due to drought and unseasonal rains last year and submit proposals to claim insurance.

According to guidelines of the insurance policy, farmers who were covered under crop insurance have the right to claim 50 per cent of the insurance amount if the sown crop failed within two months and 75 per cent insurance amount if the crop failed within three months. They were eligible to claim 100 per cent of the insurance amount, if the crop failed totally after three months.

Despite farmers suffering extensive loss due to drought and unseasonal rains last year, the state had not made any claim on behalf of farmers with the insurance firms.

The agriculture depa-rtment has to assess the damage and submit the report based on which the claims could be made.

An official of an insurance firm dealing in crop insurance said the government was not keen on availing this benefit after three months last year for the reason that the farmers would not be able to claim higher benefits at the end of the policy if they get small benefit in the beginning or middle of the season. But the government ignored claiming the benefit even after the end of both Kharif and Rabi seasons last year.

However, agriculture department officials put the blame on the Centre for the delay.

They said the Centre issued a notification last year making changes in the payment of insurance to farmers. The insurance firms were asked to make payment directly to the bank accounts of farmers within one month after getting the report from the government. If the farmers chose to claim these benefits at the initial stages of cultivation, their policy would be closed and they would not be eligible to claim any other benefits from the insurance policy at a later stage.