West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced schemes for farmers, months ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Banerjee said that the state government will pay the premium on crop insurance schemes and will give farmers Rs 5,000 per acre annually, ANI reported.
In case a farmer between the age of 18 to 60 dies, compensation of up to Rs 2 lakh will be provided to their family. “The money will be available through the agriculture department,” she said, according to Ebela. This includes compensation for farmers’ suicides as well, News18 reported.
Banerjee said that the “Krishak Bandhu” schemes would benefit over 72 lakh farmers of the state. Both the projects will be launched from January, and the farmers can apply for relief from February onward.
“We have 72 lakh farmers and farm labourers,” she said. “So we are introducing a new policy to grant Rs 2 lakh per farmer family in case of a death of a farmer.”
Last week, the chief minister had criticised the Centre for misleading farmers on agricultural schemes, The Indian Express had reported. Banerjee had accused the central government of falsely taking credit for the scheme, 80% of the cost of which was paid by her government, she said.
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