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Crop Insurance Policy
More than 4.30 lakh crop insurance applications under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) were rejected in Maharashtra during the Kharif 2024 season due to irregularities, the legislative council was told on Monday. State Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate stated in a written reply that the rejections were primarily due to discrepancies such as insurance on government-owned land, municipal land, areas exceeding actual landholdings, and non-eligible crops. "No financial loss has occurred to the government as no premiums were paid for these invalid claims," Kokate stated while responding to a question asked by BJP MLC Chitra Wagh. As many as 4,30,443 crop insurance applications under the PMFBY were rejected during the Kharif 2024 season. In comparison, 2,85,468 applications were rejected during the Kharif 2023 season, the minister stated. Kokate said the scrutiny process had flagged several irregularities including fraudulent geo-tagging of non-agricultural land as ...
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate has admitted irregularities in the implementation of the Re 1 crop insurance scheme for farmers, noting places of worship were shown as agricultural lands to claim benefits. More than four lakh crop insurance applications, some filed even by those residing outside Maharashtra, have been rejected, Kokate on Tuesday said, adding a "bogus industry" has come to light which involves non-eligible people seeking benefits of the scheme. The minister, however, asserted that no money has been actually lost as funds were not transferred by the government into the bank accounts linked to bogus applications. Speaking to the media here, Kokate said instances of malpractice in the scheme have been identified in several aspects, including cases where mosques, temples and vacant lands were falsely declared as agricultural lands to claim benefits. "I have instructed district collectors to take immediate action," he said. The crop insurance scheme was