Elections 2019: 2 Years on, Cyclone-Hit Kushinagar Farmers Still Await PMFBY Claims

Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh)/New Delhi: Farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district have been running from pillar to post since the past two years to get mandatory crop insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY). Their banana orchards – spread over acres – were devastated by a heavy cyclonic storm followed by a flood that hit the area in May 2017 and June 2018.

The cyclonic storm with wind speed of around 80 km/hour and the subsequent rainfall had hit the Eastern UP district in the past two consecutive years, causing huge distress to farmers who shifted to banana crops – which they say is more profitable – from sugarcane.

Over 100 villages in Vishnupura block and 40-45 villages in Khadda block were the worst affected as banana is grown in these two blocks on a large scale.

Ramchandra Kushwaha, a resident of Pakri village, had spent Rs 75,000 and Rs 35,000, respectively, in the past two years on banana cultivation by taking loans from a local money lender. But the cyclone and the subsequent rainfall damaged his entire plantation.

“Officials came and a survey was done, but nothing has happened so far. Both the crops got severely damaged. As a result, I could not get a single penny as profit in return. We did not get any benefits from the government’s scheme,” he told Newsclick, despair writ large on his face.

The indebted farmer said that left with no option, he had to borrow more money to make ends meet and continue farming activities.

PMFBY is a crop insurance scheme where most of the premium is paid by the government directly to insurance companies who, in turn, pay compensation in case of crop losses.

Yogendra Kushwaha of the same village had banana plantation on three bighas (3,025 square yard or 5/8 acre) of land. The cyclone and the flood damaged the entire orchard. “I could not even recover the amount I had invested. Forget about profit. I had invested around Rs 5 lakh but got nothing in return. I have no other source of earning,” he said.

Asked how he was managing the expenses of the fresh plantation, he said he had borrowed against his Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to keep the ball rolling. “Though I am already under a huge debt burden, I have to keep paying the EMIs (equated monthly instalments) of the KCC loan, whether the crops bear fruit or fails,” he said.

Although his crops were insured under the PMFBY, yet he has so far not got a single penny from the mandatory insurance scheme as claim.

Sumant Dubey has been engaged in banana plantation for the past four years. Every year, he says, the insurance company that is empaneled under the crop insurance scheme deducted Rs 28,000-Rs 30,000 as premium from his account in Punjab National Bank. All these deductions are mentioned in his passbook. His crops suffered an unexpected loss, but he is yet to get financial support – as claimed by the government – to stabilise his income to ensure continuance of farming.

“I filed a written complaint to the bank manager as well as the district magistrate who told me to speak to the officials concerned at Bajaj Allianz – a multinational insurance company. The manager assured me that the claim would be credited in my account within six months. When I inquired after six months, I came to know that I have got a meagre sum and that too for the earlier failure of wheat and paddy crops, not banana. When I spoke to the bank manager, he said he had credited the amount as per the advice of the insurance company,” he said, alleging that “the government has so far made tall claims but never ever extended helping hands”.

Majority of the farmers in the two blocks have similar stories of devastation, economic sufferings and government apathy to share, speaking volumes about many of the much-hyped policies that have been reduced to mere lip service.

Amitya Kumar – also a resident of Pakri village in Khadda block, had banana orchards on 15 acres, which faced severe damaged in the cyclone and the subsequent rainfall. “Right from tehsildar (a key officer in revenue administration who also exercises powers of an executive magistrate) to District Magistrate came to assess the damage, but we are yet to get the claims,” he said.

When asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that his government bears the losses of crop failures and damage, he said, “All such claims are made from big stages, but there is no implementation on the ground. He should come here and see the problems that farmers are facing before making such hollow claims.”

The cyclone in Uttar Pradesh and the floods, he said, had washed away 80% of banana plantations across the district. For instance, out of 1,000, only 100-200 could survive the devastation, he added.

Faced with the heavy financial loss, many farmers either left banana cultivation and few of them shifted to another crop. “We have gone several years back in terms of earning,” they said.

Sujan Ali lost 75% of his crop because of the cyclone and flood. “The Lekhpal (a government in Uttar Pradesh who maintains village revenue account and land records) assured me that I will get compensation from the government. We are waiting for his words to come true. I lost Rs 2 lakh I had invested but neither the government not the insurance company has given a single penny so far,” he added.

Lorik Gond – a farmer from the same village – lost his entire crop and is waiting for insurance even after two years of the damage. “All the government officials who came gave only lip service that we would get money from the government. I had planted banana plants on 2 bigha of land by investing around Rs 1.5 lakh. I have taken debt from banks as well as local money lenders. Life is moving on somehow,” he added.

‘NDA's crop insurance scheme bigger scam than Rafale’

If the words of senior journalist and farmers issue activist P. Sainath are something to go by, the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government's crop insurance schemes for farmers is a bigger scam than the Rafale scam.

“The present government’s policies are anti-farmer. The Pradhanmantri Bima Fasal Yojana is a bigger racket than even the Rafale scam. Selected corporates like Reliance, Essar have been given the task of providing crop insurance,” Sainath had said while addressing the Kisan Swaraj Sammelan – a three-day event organised in November last year in the national capital – on issues and solutions related to the farming sector in the country.

Citing the example of Maharashtra, Sainath had said, “Some 2.80 lakh farmers sowed soya in their farms. In a district, the farmers paid a premium of Rs 19.2 crore, the state government and the central governments paid Rs 77 crore each, amounting to a total of Rs 173 crore, which was paid to Reliance insurance. The entire crop failed and the insurance company paid out the claims. Reliance paid Rs 30 crore in one district, giving it a total net profit of Rs 143 crore without investing a single rupee. Now multiply ttis amount to each of the districts it has been entrusted.”

His allegation holds ground as far as the data suggests. It appears to have turned into a bonanza for insurance companies while farmers are angry over delays in claim settlement, rejections and paltry compensation.

READ: PMFBY – Insurance Companies Make Super Profits, Farmers Suffer

Launched in 2016, four full seasons have passed and the financial transactions show earnings of insurance companies reaching almost Rs 16,000 crore from the first three seasons, kharif (autumn crops that are sown in monsoon and harvested in autumn)) of 2016, rabi (agricultural crops that are sown in winter and harvested in the spring) of 2016-17 and kharif of 2017. The claim settlement of the rabi of even 2017-18 season is still not complete.

In other words, the scheme is essentially transferring farmers’ money and government funds to insurance companies’ coffers while pretending to provide much-needed compensation to farmers whose crops are lost in inclement weather conditions.

Patel is a journalist based out of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.