MUMBAI: Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate has admitted irregularities in the implementation of the one rupee crop insurance scheme for farmers, noting places of worship were shown as agricultural lands to claim benefits.
More than four lakh crop insurance applications, some filed even by those residing outside Maharashtra, have been rejected, Kokate on Tuesday said, adding a “bogus industry” has come to light which involves non-eligible people seeking benefits of the scheme.
The minister, however, asserted that no money has been actually lost as funds were not transferred by the government into the bank accounts linked to bogus applications.
Speaking to the media here, Kokate said instances of malpractice in the scheme have been identified in several aspects, including cases where mosques, temples and vacant lands were falsely declared as agricultural lands to claim benefits.
“I have instructed district collectors to take immediate action,” he said.
The crop insurance scheme was introduced in the 2023 budget by the then deputy chief minister and finance minister Devendra Fadnavis. Under the scheme, farmers can get crop insurance for just Re one.
Before the scheme, farmers had to pay the company two per cent of the insurance premium.
The agriculture department had received several complaints from farmers about the scheme’s implementation, chiefly on grounds of non-payment of the insurance amount as well as mismatch of records.
Agriculture Secretary Vikaschandra Rastogi later headed a committee which compiled the complaints and conducted a probed into them.
Kokate said, “Over four lakh crop insurance applications were rejected across the state. Some of these applications were filed by people from outside Maharashtra. We have taken significant steps to address the irregularities. Farmers will be issued unique ID cards linked to Aadhaar to ensure transparency.”
An updated database of farmers is being prepared, the minister said, adding that significant reforms will be introduced in the scheme.
Asked how the large-scale bogus claims could be made, Kokate attributed much of the malpractice to certain Common Service Centres (CSCs), where people involved in data entry of details of farmers are paid Rs 40 per application.
“The operators of such centres filed bogus applications to earn more. We have ordered action against 96 such centres,” he said.
With inputs from PTI