Bhopal, Mar 17: Samajwadi Party MLA, Narayan Tripathi on Monday alleged large-scale irregularities in the crop insurance scheme in the state and demanded action against the guilty for allegedly siphoning off the huge premium amount collected from the farmers under the crop insurance scheme.

Raising the question in the state assembly here on Monday, Tripathi alleged that despite collecting premium amount from the farmers under the crop insurance scheme, majority of the farmers in the state were not getting insurance claims.

The Samajwadi Party MLA also alleged that the premium amount collected from the farmers quiet often did not reach the insurance company and it is ultimately the farmers who suffer on account of lacuna on the part of co-operative societies which collect premium amount from the farmers. Ramballabh Sharma of the CPM also joined the debate and subscribed to the allegations levelled by the Samajwadi Party MLA.

In reply to Tripathi's carges, the state Agriculture and Farmer Welfare minister, Gopal Bhargav denied that the farmers were not being given their insurance claims. He however, accepted delay in the payment of insurance claim among the farmers, which is purely the prerogative of the insurance companies, which make payment of the claims on the merit of the cases.

The minister said as against collection of Rs 4310.31 lakh as premium amount from as many as 10,33,568 farmers under the crop insurance scheme from June 2007 till date, insurance claim to the tune of Rs 2981.07 lakh had been distributed among 1,89,063 farmers as compensation against damage to their crops in the past two years.

Regarding, non-deposit of the premium amount collected from the farmers by the co-operative societies to the insurance companies, the minister assured that he would initiate an inquiry into the matter and if any lapses was found on the part of the insurance companies concerned, necessary disciplinary action would be taken against the guilty.

Replying to supplementary questions by Ms Usha Thakur, Bhargava said alleged irregularities in granting permission for selling more than 20 acre land to Indore-based Amardeep Housing Co-operative Society would be probed within a week.

Responding to supplementary queries by former education minister Indrajeet Kumar, Bhargava said peasants were not coming to banks to deposit their instalments after the government announced waiving of their loans. Meanwhile, co-operative banks had also postponed recovery of debts. He told Girija Shankar Sharma (BJP) that a special audit of primary agricultural societies in Hoshangabad district would be carried out in view of alleged irregularities in the audit. Stern action would be taken against guilty.

Admitting that irregularities to the tune of Rs 79 lakh had been unearthed in Rampur agriculture society, he said irregularities-related complaints had been submitted to police. When Hakam Singh Chadhar raised the matter of irregularities being carried out in selling of land by Indore-based Devi Ahilya Shramik Kaamgar Cooperative Society, Bhargava said investigation would be carried out within 15 days by sending officer from the state capital.