The West Bengal government on Tuesday released ₹197 crore for 2.46 lakh farmers as crop insurance. The funds have been released during the ongoing Durga Puja festivities for farmers who have not been able to sow paddy due to deficit rainfall this year.
“We are releasing Rs 197 crore to 2.46 lakh affected farmers who could not sow paddy due to deficit rainfall. The claims have been finalised under Bangla Shasya Bima (BSB), which is a fully state government funded crop insurance scheme and we pay the entire premium amount. Farmers are not required to pay anything,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on X.
Ms. Banerjee added that since the inception of the scheme in 2019, her government had paid over ₹2,400 crore to 85 lakh farmers.
While the West Bengal government did not accept the Centre’s PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, a cash incentive scheme for farmers, the State government devised its own scheme. The State’s Krishak Bandhu scheme was relaunched in 2021, doubling assistance to farmers to ₹10,000 a year. Farm labourers and sharecroppers are also included in the scheme, and they receive ₹4,000 a year.
