State extends farmers’ enrollment process from Oct 31 to November 30

Kolkata: Following the announcement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Agriculture department has notified the extension of dates for farmers’ enrollment in the crop insurance scheme — Bangla Shasya Bima — by another month till November 30.

The move comes in the backdrop of damage caused to paddy in a number of districts in South Bengal due to the effect of Cyclone ‘Dana’. The cut off date for enrollment, prior to the extension, was October 31.

“I held a meeting with department officials and instructed the district-level officials to form groups by Saturday to visit all the mouzas where paddy cultivation is hit. They need to ensure affected farmers get enrolled in BSB. The insurance company that provides the compensation was informed of the extension date (November 30),” said Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, state Agriculture minister.

The enrollment camps couldn’t be conducted smoothly at the district level due to the flood-like situation in some districts of South Bengal just ahead of the Durga Puja and also due to the recent Cyclone ‘Dana’.

“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed that not a single farmer suffering damage should be excluded from the benefits of BSB. We are aiming for 100 per cent enrollment,” added Chattopadhyay.

Some 54 lakh applications were received by the Agriculture department. Last year,

Rs 637.39 crore was disbursed under BSB with the total beneficiaries being 15.79 lakh.