Crop insurance row: Agri Min hits out at Bihar govt

The ongoing letter war between Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and his counterpart in Bihar Alok Kumar Mehta over Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has taken a political turn. Countering the charges of Mehta, Singh said, “The minister had never requested for meeting on August 1 rather he had asked for fixing it on any date as per their convenience.”

Quoting a text message sent to Joint Secretary AK Bhutani by Bihar Agriculture Secretary, Singh said, “A text message that reads my minister has requested for meeting on 8/8 or 9/8. May please fix and communicate was sent by Bihar Agriculture Secretary at 9:56 PM on August 1. Just a day after the SMS, an e-mail was sent to the minister fixing the meeting on August 8.”

Rubbishing the charges as baseless, Singh said that Bihar government is playing with the lives of poor farmers. “The charges are baseless as every state is bearing the premium burden on the basis of 50:50 per cent share. It’s not that only states would have to face the financial burden, even the Centre has the same problem, but we all have to do it in the best interest of farmers.”

As many as 22 states have introduced the new crop insurance scheme, including Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh. The Centre has extended the last date to August 10 to enable more farmers avail its benefits.