Several Gujarat government officials are reeling under the pressure of the farmers and have begun seeking police cover. The irrigation department has already sought the police support while inspecting the irrigation canal network to stop water theft. Now, the agriculture department is following the suite.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Agriculture Department, Sanjay Prasad, wrote a letter to Director General Of Police of state on October 1 requesting him to allocate police personnel at the spot of the calculation of claims to avoid confrontation or disturbance when their staff was dealing with farmers.
"During the crop cutting experiments, it is possible that some people will have vested interests and may try to disrupt the process. That is why the police cover was sought. If the police remain, the calculation could be done efficiently," Prasad wrote in his letter.
Prasad also sent the details about the crop-cutting along with this letter to DGP. He stated that the concerned police officials of the particular territory would be informed by local staff of agriculture and the panchayat about the date, place and time of crop cutting experiment.
As per the Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the crop-cutting experiment method is applied to calculate the claims.
This is done through the agricultural gains made in one-hectare area and if the same is not at par with the standard formula, the farmers are supposed to pay the claims under the insurance scheme.
"It is possible that the farmers may not be satisfied with the insurance claims to be paid back them by the company after the calculation. Already, the farming community is distressed due to many reasons including insufficient rainfall."
"It is possible that they may attack our staff during the process to create pressure on them, that is why the police protection is necessary," an official of the agriculture department said.
KHAKI COVER
- Additional Chief Secretary of the Agri dept wrote to the DGP requesting police cover at the spot of calculation of claims to avoid conflict
- He also sent details about crop-cutting stating that the concerned officials will be informed about the date, place & time of experiment
