Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas
Cameraperson: Akanksha Kumar
“This government is good for nothing,” says Ram Chander, as he shows his passbook, pointing towards respective instalments deducted under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana since 2017.
The last installment, amounting to Rs 729, was debited from his account on 31 July 2018.
Enrolment under the BJP government’s flagship crop insurance scheme didn’t help Ram Chander in any way.
In February 2018, when his crops were destroyed by a hailstorm, he did receive a message from the bank on his mobile phone regarding damages, but the insurance amount was never credited to his account.
In 2019, Ram Chander decided to approach the High Court in Chandigarh, hoping to get monetary compensation and justice.
“When I have been paying for the insurance and our crops were destroyed, then we should get that money.”Ram Chander, Farmer
Forced to Borrow from Local Moneylender
As soon as one enters Bahal block, in Haryana’s Bhiwani district, there’s a hand-written advertisement in red-coloured paint that is noticeable.
Mobile numbers, claiming ‘Nasha Mukti’, promising to help in overcoming drug addiction can be seen on every wall. Locals say that since Bahal lies close to Haryana-Rajasthan border; it’s considered to be a haven for easy exchange of drugs.
Far from the daze of drugs, farmers in this area have been bogged down by financial burden as they continue to harvest crops that are dependent on the climate.
Ram Chander is one of them, struggling to support a family of four these days.
In the neighbouring Chahar Kalan village, 12 kms away from Bahal block, 74-year-old Pyare Lal had no option but to take out multiple loans.
When the money promised under the insurance scheme didn’t come, Pyare Lal turned to moneylenders so that he could manage personal expenses.
“Since it didn’t rain, the bajra (millet) and guar (cluster bean) crops I had sown were spoiled. I had to take loans amounting to Rs 50,000 or Rs 30,000 or Rs 20,000 as and when needed.”Pyare Lal (Farmer)
Former Sarpanch Approached the SDM, No Action Was Taken
Another village, same story. In Nangal village, it was a clerical error on the bank’s part that resulted in the denial of the insurance claims of the farmers.
Jai Singh, who was a Sarpach between 2000 and 2005, explains how missing out on the block’s name in official records led to a conundrum.
“When the records were sent (by bank), along with Nangal village, Bahal block should have been mentioned, instead, they wrote Bhiwani. Due to this reason, claims of around 15-20 people in the village were denied.”Jai Singh, Former Sarpanch (Nangal Village)
So when Jai Singh’s cotton crops were spoiled in 2017, he didn’t get even a rupee from the bank. For someone with three acres of landholding, Jai Singh was supposed to get Rs 45,000 as compensation.
He even sat on a dharna (protest) at the office of Bhiwani’s sub-divisional magistrate but to no avail.
When asked if he would consider legal options, Jai Singh exclaimed he was helpless and didn’t have enough resources to pursue a case.
“How can a farmer fight a case? We already don’t have enough money. How will we arrange money for fighting a case?”Jai Singh, Former Sarpanch (Nangal Village)
Flaws in the Scheme
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched by the NDA government in 2016 with the aim of helping farmers when the crops are struck by natural calamities.
Three years down the line, the report card of the scheme doesn’t look impressive in Haryana.
Activists in Bhiwani blame it on the procedural lapses resulting in non-payment of insurance money.
“Among 440 villages in Bhiwani, 137 villages are such whose insurance money was not reimbursed even after accepting their claims. If claim of Rs 10,000 per acre was to be given then banks are reimbursing at Rs 5,000 (per acre).”Balbir Singh Thakan, President, Haryana Kisan Sabha
Thakan, who keeps a record of claims and helps farmers in fighting legal cases, believes that when it comes to reimbursement, it’s the sheer scale of the scheme which leads to either a village or a tehsil being left out.
A row of zeroes in the column of ‘claims’ shows how the scheme has failed in rural parts of the country.
Will the 2019 elections pave the way for policies that help curb rural distress?
From Ram Chander who thinks that “both Modi and Khattar have looted the farmers and supported big corporates”, it’s already a thumbs down for the ruling party at the Centre and in the state.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)