Congress questions Gujarat govt’s refusal to implement PMFBY

Ahmedabad/New Delhi, June 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Gujarat unit of Congress on Tuesday questioned why the state government has not implemented the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), despite repeated requests from the Union government, and demanded that the scheme be introduced immediately to protect farmers against crop losses caused by natural calamities.

Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, party national spokesperson and former Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil released copies of letters written by the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to the Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and to him.

He contended that the correspondence showed the Centre had urged the state to adopt the crop insurance scheme, but Gujarat had remained outside it.

"The Union Agriculture Minister wrote to the Gujarat Chief Minister on November 25, 2025, stating that nearly all states in the country were implementing PMFBY and that the scheme had provided substantial assistance to farmers during unseasonal rainfall, excessive rainfall and other natural disasters," Gohil claimed.

He said the letter urged the state government to introduce the scheme immediately, but this had not been done.

Gohil also referred to a written reply from the Union Government following an issue he raised during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha on December 5 last year, regarding compensation for farmers who suffered heavy losses due to unseasonal rainfall in Gujarat.

He claimed the Centre informed him that while farmers across the country were receiving benefits under PMFBY, Gujarat had not adopted the scheme despite repeated requests from the Union Government, making it impossible for the Centre to extend compensation through the programme.

"The entire country is availing of crop insurance benefits, but the Gujarat Government has not accepted the scheme despite repeated requests," Gohil quoted from the Centre's response, adding that Gujarat remained the only state where PMFBY was not being implemented.

He said the Union Agriculture Minister's communication described PMFBY as a beneficial scheme that provides compensation for crop losses from sowing to harvest.

According to Gohil, the minister also stated that the scheme covers all crops and includes assistance for losses to vegetables and trees.

Claiming that farmers suffered losses worth crores of rupees during unseasonal heavy rainfall last year, Gohil said: "They would have received full compensation had the state implemented PMFBY. Instead, farmers were given only limited compensation by the state government for restricted areas, which was insufficient even to meet the costs of seeds and cultivation."

The Congress demanded that the state government explain why it had kept farmers out of the central crop insurance scheme despite requests from the Union Government, and apologise to farmers for doing so.

It also sought full compensation for the losses suffered by farmers last year, rather than the limited compensation already paid.

Referring to the delayed monsoon and the possibility of crop losses due to El Niño, the party urged the state government to implement PMFBY in Gujarat without delay.

It further asked why Gujarat's farmers had remained outside the scheme since 2019-20 while farmers in other states continued to receive its benefits.

Gujarat withdrew from the PMFBY in 2020 and introduced the Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay Yojana (MMKSY) as a state-funded alternative.

The state government had said the decision was taken after insurance companies quoted high premium rates under PMFBY.

Unlike the central scheme, MMKSY provides financial assistance for crop losses caused by natural calamities without requiring farmers to pay an insurance premium, while the state has also said disaster-related relief is provided through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Source: IANS