Announce crop insurance scheme in special assembly session on April 13: Jakhar to Punjab govt

Chandigarh: Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Friday said the Punjab govt should announce the implementation of a crop insurance scheme for farmers during the special Vidhan Sabha session scheduled for April 13.Jakhar also wrote a letter to chief minister Bhagwant Mann in this regard. He said, "Although the Govt of India has already implemented a crop insurance scheme, the Punjab govt has not notified it. By doing so, the CM is committing a major injustice towards farmers."He said, "The farmers in Punjab are currently facing severe natural calamities. Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have caused large-scale crop damage. Earlier, floods in 2023 and 2025 also led to massive destruction, and even now many farmers have not received compensation because no crop insurance scheme is in place in Punjab. Even today, farmers remain worried about how their losses due to such disasters will be compensated."Pointing out that "three years ago, the Punjab govt announced that it would introduce its own agricultural insurance scheme in place of the central govt's Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana", Jakhar said, "However, despite all these years and farmers suffering losses worth thousands of crores, the scheme is still awaited."He said, "Since the Punjab govt has called a special Assembly session on April 13, 2026, the CM should fulfil his promise and, without delay, announce Punjab's own crop insurance scheme during this session so that farmers can be compensated during natural disasters."He added, "If the state govt's financial condition is weak, it should immediately implement the central govt's crop insurance scheme, which is already operational in other states and has proved beneficial for farmers."He suggested that "instead of spending heavily on advertisements, the govt should allocate funds from the already debt-burdened state treasury towards paying insurance premiums for farmers."He alleged that "every section of society is unhappy with the current govt — farmers are not receiving compensation, traders and industrialists are not getting a peaceful environment, and poor law and order along with drug issues have created fear among the people."Jakhar also said that "lakhs of govt employees and pensioners in Punjab are facing financial hardship because the state govt has not provided the due increase in Dearness Allowance (DA)." He pointed out that "while the central govt and neighbouring states are giving 58% DA, Punjab is providing only 42%." He added that "despite the High Court directing the govt to release the DA, the state is planning to approach the Supreme Court instead, which reflects its anti-employee stance."He demanded that the govt should immediately release the pending DA for employees and pensioners.MSID:: 130169817 413 |