Crop insurance norms changed in MP

Bhopal, July 19(UNI) Aimed at extending the benefit of crop insurance to maximum number of farmers from Kharif 2006, the Madhya Pradesh government has changed the norms making Patwari area as a unit instead of the tahsil at present for payment of compensation in the event of crop failure due to natural calamities.

Making a suo motto statement in the Assembly today, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said though a large number of farmers suffered loss following crop damage in a vast area every year due to hailstorm, drought, pest attack and other natural calamities, very few farmers got compensation due strict norms.

At present, the farmers were eligible to get compensation only if 60 percent crops in a tahsil was damaged and the loss was estimated on the crop average of the previous three or five years.

Mr Chouhan said the state government had been requesting the Centre for a long time and raised it at different fora to change the norms and the revised norms would come into effect from Kharif 2006.

Later talking to reporters, Mr Chouhan said soyaben, paddy and tuar crop would be covered under crop insurance in the Kharif season, while wheat, mustard and gram would be covered in Rabi season.

Admitting that the existing insurance norms were not farmer-friendly, he said instead of farmers the insurance companies benefitted much. With the change in norms, the number of crop cutting experiments would be increased from 313 tahsil units to 11524 Patwari area units. Revenue and Agriculture officials would be involved in crop cutting experiments for extensive coverage of farmers.

At present, the Centre and states contributed equally on crop insurance.

The Chief Minister said the Revenue Book Circular had already been changed to provide maximum relief to farmers affected by natural calamities. ''Almost all farmers will be covered according to the changed norms'', he added.

UNI SP 1426