Declare entire HP draught affected, negligible cover under Weather insurance

Himachal Pradesh Kissan Sabha which hold a meeting with state horticulture department and insurance companies demanded to declare entire Himachal Pradesh draught affected. Meeting was held at Horticulture Directorate Shimla on Monday. CPI(M) member of Assembly and president of state sebutpadak sangh Rakesh Singha, Kissan Sabha president Dr Kuldeep Tanwar and Joint Director Horticulture Dr GS Jhobta attended the meeting to review the Weather based insurance scheme started in 2009. Mr Singha said that scheme failed to impart major reprive to farmers who are facing heavy and various weather based vagries like drought, heavy rain and thunder storm.  CPI(M) legislator and president of Seb Utpadak Sangh asked the government to revive the weather based insurance scheme as coverage under the scheme have came down to negligible as Farmers were withdrawing from the scheme. Mr Singha said that in 2009 about 85000 Farmers applied in the scheme but due to poor response of companies to provide compensation of drought, heavy rain and thunder storm today only ten thousand people are now cover under it. He said that data of weather station is not available to apple grown area specifically therefore Farmers were not being given the insurance due to not accessing of weather vagaries. He said that Kissan Sabha have seek meetings with Horticulture Director to revive the Scheme and make it pro-farmers.Joint Director Horticulture Dr GS Jhobta informed during the meeting that companies enrolled in the Weather based insurance didn’t share Weather data with government and farmers. He said that state and centre goverment would be asked to insert new clouse in weather based insurance scheme to share Weather data with Farmers and department. Mr Singha said that in present apple season not only hailstorm but long dryspell and draught affected the entire state should be declared draught affected. He said that dry spell caused heavy drop out of apple and other fruits. CPI(M) secretary of Kasumpti unit Satvavan pundir said that Department ashared data of weather based insurance scheme of 2017-18 in the meeting which showed that about Rs 28 Crore premium was collected by five companies engaged in the Weather based insurance scheme out of which only five crore were distributed as compensation to farmers howerer rests Rs 23 Cr were taken by the companies. Many area were also affected hail, thunderstrom and windstorm should be given adequate compensation, Dr Kuldeep Tanwar demanded.Mr Tanwar said that apple and others off seasonal vegetables were mainstay of people in the state are supporting around nine lakh Farmers and their families were on the receiving hands due to weather vagaries were given adequate attention. He said that government failed to check the effectiveness of weather insurance scheme as instead of helping Farmers insurance companies are getting benifit of such schemes.