Raj to order SOG probe into crop insurance scheme irregularities

Jaipur: Agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena said Monday Rajasthan govt will order a Special Operations Group (SOG) probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the state. Addressing the Rajasthan Assembly, Meena also alleged an insurance company withheld ₹128 crore in crop damage claims due to farmers.Replying to a question by BJP MLA Babu Singh Rathore, Meena alleged "organised crime" in the scheme, saying a "mafia" was active in crop insurance and that the govt would not allow farmers to be cheated.
He said some payments were pending due to non-verification of bank accounts and Aadhaar details, death of insured farmers, or NEFT failures. "District collectors have been directed to complete account verification, Aadhaar authentication and succession certificate formalities at the earliest. Once these formalities are completed, payments will be released without delay," he told the House.The minister said the present govt paid ₹6,328 crore in insurance claims for Rabi and Kharif crops, with ₹188 crore pending from the previous govt's tenure.Citing a case in Sriganganagar district's Karanpur area, Meena said, "During inspection, it was found that the insurance company's surveyor had signed the intimation forms on behalf of farmers, agriculture supervisors and revenue officials." He said that of 1.70 lakh forms examined, 32,000 showed zero crop damage despite actual losses ranging between 50-70%, leading to an estimated ₹128 crore loss to farmers."An FIR was registered at Rawla, and the police investigation is underway. Prima facie, Kshema Insurance Company was found at fault. We wrote to the central govt requesting that no further tenders be awarded to this company," Meena said.Meena also flagged an alleged fraud in Salasar involving 71 fake bank accounts opened in farmers' names at an SBI branch. "Premium deductions were processed through these fake accounts based on forged documents. This could have resulted in a wrongful payment of ₹9 crore from the Centre and state govts. An FIR was also registered in this case, where the name of AIC company surfaced," he said.Irregularities were also reported from Sanchore, Jalore, Churu, Nagaur and Bikaner districts, Meena added.