​Crop insurance claims of last kharif season unsettled for many farmers in Latur

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Even as the new kharif season is set to begin, many farmers from Latur claim that they are still awaiting settlement of their claims towards crop insurance for last Kharif season.In a memorandum submitted to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, farmers have said that crops such as soyabean, cotton, and pigeon pea (tur) had suffered extensive damage in Latur district, and the requisite official assessment of damage as well as crop cutting experiments have already been completed.“Around 700 crop cutting experiments were conducted across the district, and nearly 50 complaints regarding losses have been officially registered. Despite this, insurance companies continue to keep farmers’ claims pending by citing various technical reasons,” Ramesh Patil, district vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha, said.He added, “Strict directives must be issued to the insurance companies that a special mechanism be implemented to ensure the resolution of claim cases from Latur within a stipulated time frame. State govt must intervene to avoid further delays.”When contacted, agricultural superintendent for Latur Rajendra Kadam said necessary evaluation for 47 out of 60 circles was over so far.“Only one circle has been found eligible for crop insurance scheme benefits and compensation worth over Rs9 crore is being disbursed. Farmers from the rest 46 circles will not get compensation as the areas have better yield than the past average,” he said.​On alleged procedural delays, ​Kadam said uniform process is followed for claim settlement across the state and Latur is no exception.Earlier, around 11,200 farmers from Latur district were declared ineligible for Kharif season of 2024-2025, sparking anger. Authorities had said that insurance companies had cited 11 different reasons for rejection of claims.