HC tells Centre, State to file detailed report on crop insurance

MADURAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Thursday directed state and Centre to submit a detailed report in a plea seeking insurance compensation for crop damage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

Jeevakumar from Thanjavur filed a public interest litigation petition, which came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justice SS Sundar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy.

The petitioner said the PMFBY is aimed at providing insurance coverage and financial support to farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop due to natural calamities, pests and diseases attack on crop, resulting damage. Both the governments are responsible for providing insurance benefits to the affected farmers. While the state government is providing benefits to the tune of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per acre of crop damage for every insured farmer, the Centre has not yet provided insurance benefits to eligible farmers.

Meanwhile, the state government counsel said the online registration portal for the insurance scheme was not functional and added that Chief Minister MK Stalin forwarded a letter to the Centre to release funds under the crop insurance scheme.

The bench, after hearing, said the scheme was introduced, but not properly implemented. The bench then directed both the governments to file a detailed report and adjourned the case to September 28.