The district administration admits insurance companies, mostly government-backed, have done a shoddy job.
When his crop failed for the third straight year, Jalam Singh Malviya, a 44-year-old farmer in Madhya Pradesh, expected his insurance to come to the rescue. But all he got was Rs 13.
The insurance was on a bank loan that Jalam had taken to sow soybean crop on his 2.5 bigha farm, in the Saakal Kheda Kalan village of Vidisha district.
"I lost Rs 50,000 in farming last year. A survey was done and I hoped to get Rs 15 to 20 thousand for my losses. I got Rs 13 which is insufficient to even buy poison and end my life," the desperate farmer told NDTV.
In Jalam's village, soybean sown by all 259 farmers last year was damaged due to untimely excessive rain. But in all, they claim, they have received Rs 68,000 from the insurance companies making out an average of Rs 260 per farmer. There are many who have got even Rs 3 or 5, say the villagers.
"We villagers have decided to return the Rs 68,000 to the Chief Minister. Either they should not deduct insurance money or they should do a proper survey," Sangram Singh, President of the Saakal Kheda Kalan Agriculture co-operative society said.
The district administration admits insurance companies, mostly government-backed, have done a shoddy job.
"Yes there are irregularities on part of the insurance companies. Like in one village a farmer has got Rs 200 as compensation and another farmer from the same village has got Rs 10. This is not possible as production would have been same which means there is a problem," additional collector of Anju Pawan Bhadauria said.
The government has now formed a three-member committee to investigate the insurance compensation and promises an early resolution.