The Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AICIL) has sanctioned Rs 137.50 crore to Orissa to settle the agriculture insurance claims for the Kharif season of 2010 under the National Agriculture Insurance Yojana (NAIY). The state government’s share in the sanctioned amount is 34.5 per cent.
As many as 213,325 farmers of 58 blocks in 14 districts across the state would be benefited under the insurance claim. There were 11,77,710 farmers including 10,96,684 borrowers who had insured their paddy crop across the state under the NAIY in Kharif-2010. The insurance implementing agency AICIL had collected Rs 47.07 crore from the farmers, official sources said.
"We have already disbursed our share to the District Central Cooperative Banks", said a senior official of AICIL. The payment to the eligible farmers is likely to be made after the state government releases its share, sources said.
The scheme will benefit eight blocks in Ganjam district, one each in Balasore, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Boudh, Bargarh and Sonepur districts, 16 blocks in Mayurbhnaj district, nine in Sundergarh, six in Sambalpur, five in Angul, four in Jharsuguda and two each in Kwendrapara and Deogarh districts.
The insurance settlement was made on the basis of the yield report. The yield report was furnished by the Directorate of Statistics, Orissa government through the department of cooperation, sources said. The yield rate was calculated by taking block as unit.
Meanwhile the MLAs and the leaders of the farmers in Ganjam district, having the highest area of cultivable lands, have expressed their dissatisfaction as most of the farmers, who suffered crop loss in the unseasonal rains in the district have been left out from the insurance benefit. Almost all the MLAs and the officials from the district were in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday to discuss about the situation. Revenue Minister SN Patra, who hails from Ganjam presided over the meeting.
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"The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will take the decision for the further course of action", said a ruling party MLA.
Only 23,220 farmers in 8 out of 22 blocks in the district will be benefited in the district under the scheme.
On the other hand, the state government had calculated that around 4.5 lakh farmers of 3126 villages in all 22 blocks of the district had suffered crop loss due to the untimely rains during December last year.
The government had calculated the loss of the crop jointly with revenue inspectors and agriculture officers taking a village as a unit.