Days after the Haryana government made insurance of crops under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) completely voluntary, farmer outfits have alleged that banks are asking for affidavits from farmers instead of self-declaration for opting out of the scheme.
Gun Parkash, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union's Haryana unit told The Hindu that several farmers are unable to opt out of the PMFBY due to frivolous issues being raised by banks.
“I had gone to my bank a few days ago to get myself excluded from the PMFBY, and the bank official asked me to submit an affidavit on a ₹10 stamp paper for getting discontinued from the scheme. I had to submit the affidavit,” said Mr. Parkash of Pharal village in Kaithal district.
“While the government has made it clear that self-declaration was sufficient, many banks have been insisting on affidavits,” he added.
The Haryana government had recently decided to make the scheme completely voluntary for the convenience of the farmers. According to a notification, farmers having Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) can give a self-declaration in their bank stating that he/she does not need crop insurance. However, the farmer is required to give this declaration seven days before the last date. Further, farmers who want to change their crops in the crop insurance can also give an application in the respective banks two days before the last date. The last date to submit a declaration to opt out of the insurance scheme to the concerned bank was July 24, 2020.
Rattan Mann, president of the Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait), said, “We urge the government to extend the deadline of opting out of the scheme till August 15 at least. Many farmers have been left in the lurch owing to confusion around the submission of affidavit or self-declaration.”
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