In Maharashtra, a discrepancy has been flagged by the Agriculture Commissionerate regarding the insured area of onion crops across eight districts, as compared to the actual cultivation area. A communication from agriculture director Vinaykumar Awate to district collectors and agriculture officers of Nashik, Dhule, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Satara, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Beed highlighted this issue. The letter pointed out that while onions have been planted over 75,312 hectares in these districts, insurance applications suggest a cultivation area of 2,63,136 hectares, indicating a 349 percent discrepancy.
The premium for onion crop insurance ranges from Rs 46,000 to 81,422 per hectare, fully funded by the government based on farmer declarations, without subsequent verification. The letter emphasized that insuring crops not actually planted constitutes fraud against the government. It called for district officials to collaborate with insurance company employees to verify the claims through village reports and to take action against those submitting false applications.
Source: ThePrint