Gujarat HC asks govt to assess if farmers are compensated for crop loss

To comply with the same, the court granted time of three months “to get the entire exercise carried out and ensure that the farmers do not suffer if they are otherwise entitled.” The matter has now been kept next for hearing in January 2021.

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday requested the state government to assess and determine if the farmers covered under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme have received their due compensation for crop loss.

The division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice AJ Shastri was hearing a petition filed by ten Surendranagar farmers, who lost their crops during the floods in July 2017 and had claimed that they were covered under the PMFBY.

The petitioners had submitted that despite their crop loss three years ago, they had not received the compensation they were entitled under the scheme even as of 2020.

The court in its order also noted, “Further in case they were not covered under the scheme or not entitled to any compensation for any reason, they ought to have been informed. It is of concern that these poor farmers who suffered loss of their crops whether or not were entitled to compensation were compelled to approach this court for an adjudication.”

Without going into the merits of the contentions raised by the farmers, the court thus left with a request to the state authorities and the secretary of Agriculture and Cooperation Department “to carry out an exercise and ensure as to whether not only the petitioners who are poor farmers but the other farmers covered under the scheme have or have not been paid their due compensation and any such issue which may arise inter se the insurance company, the State and the farmers, may be resolved at the earliest.”

To comply with the same, the court granted time of three months “to get the entire exercise carried out and ensure that the farmers do not suffer if they are otherwise entitled.” The matter has now been kept next for hearing in January 2021.

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