A day ahead of the Janata Dal (United) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are expected to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement in Bihar for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar scrapped Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Commenting on the scheme, Cooperative Department’s Principal Secretary Atul Prasad alleged that it benefited the insurance companies more than the farmers, The Indian Express reported.
Kumar had openly criticised the PMFBY scheme previously also. The state has to bear 49 per cent premium cost of the scheme, 49 per cent is borne by the Centre and the beneficiaries have to pay the remaining two per cent. Underlining Bihar’s inability to release the fund, Kumar had said that the scheme should be renamed as “PM-CM farmer insurance scheme”. The BJP, which was then the main opposition party in Bihar, had slammed Kumar for his statement.
Replacing the scheme, the government has launched “Bihar Rajya Fasal Sahayta Yojana” — to provide financial assistance to farmers for crop damage.