Rs 6 credited to Maharashtra farmer's bank account not paid by govt, clarifies agriculture dept

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nov 6 (PTI) A day after a farmer from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra claimed that he received only Rs 6 for crop losses, the state agriculture department on Thursday said the amount was not paid by the government.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's District Superintendent of Agriculture Officer P R Deshmukh said the amount was not paid by the government neither as compensation for crop insurance scheme nor under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), but got credited into his bank as "interest".

The farmer, Digambar Sudhakar Tagde, a resident of Dawarwadi village in Paithan taluka in the district, on Wednesday told reporters that he received a message that Rs 6 were credited to his bank account.

He had also said, "The government should be ashamed of paying so little. This amount is not even sufficient to buy me a cup of tea. The government has played a big joke on the farmers." People have been waiting for compensation for the last two months, while the government was transferring "such amounts", he had alleged.

He was speaking to reporters during Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's visit to Nandar village in Paithan to interact with farmers, who have suffered crop losses in the wake of heavy rains and flooding. PTI AW NP