Maharashtra: Irregularities in crop insurance enrollment on industrial, non-agri land in Beed under investigation

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The Agricultural Insurance Company of India (AIC) has initiated an investigation into suspected irregularities involving approximately 180 individuals who enrolled for crop insurance on industrial land in Maharashtra's Beed city. Some farmers also obtained insurance coverage for crops on non-agricultural land. An AIC official in the district reported that they had informed Collector Deepa Mudhol Munde about individuals enrolling for additional crop insurance in various parts of the district.

The official explained that while they understand that farmers have limited land, some had enrolled for crop insurance on more than 100 hectares of land, including on Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and non-agricultural land. It is unclear whether these individuals are genuine farmers, and an investigation is underway.

Following the unearthing of these alleged irregularities, a ground-truthing process was initiated based on remote sensing data. An inspection conducted by the insurance company over 15 days revealed that some farmers had obtained additional crop insurance for financial gain.

According to available documents from the AIC and agriculture department, around 180 people obtained crop insurance for 188 hectares of land, claiming it to be within the MIDC area of Beed city. Some individuals operating Common Service Centres (CSC) filled out the crop insurance forms online.

"According to our primary investigation, we suspect that the CSC operators and some other people were involved in the irregularities of enrolment for crop insurance. A CSC operator in Parbhani district has enrolled a farmer from Beed for crop insurance," an official told PTI.

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Initial investigations suggest that CSC operators and other individuals may have been involved in the irregular enrollment for crop insurance. For instance, a CSC operator in Parbhani district enrolled a farmer from Beed for crop insurance.

Some farmers from Ambajogai taluka in Beed district even enrolled for crop insurance on non-agricultural land. They have since approached the taluka agriculture officer to request the cancellation of their crop insurance, citing negligence.

One doctor from Ashti taluka in Beed and his brother obtained insurance for soybean and tur crops on 988 acres of land, although they claimed to have only 11 acres. Additionally, two farmers from Jedhewadi and Morjalwadi villages enrolled for crops on 90 hectares of land, but an investigation found that their land was not registered in revenue records.