Cotton Farmers to Receive ₹255 Crore in Insurance Claims

SGRC directs settlement of crop insurance claims based on actual yield data recorded through CCEs

Cotton growers in Haryana’s Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts are set to receive crop insurance claims amounting to nearly ₹255 crore following a decision by the Haryana State Grievances Redressal Committee (SGRC). The claims will be settled using actual average yield data recorded through Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs).

In a significant development for cotton farmers in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri, the Haryana State Grievances Redressal Committee (SGRC) has directed Kshema General Insurance Company to settle crop insurance claims worth nearly ₹255 crore based on actual average yield figures recorded through Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs).

The decision follows more than a year of efforts by farmers and their organisations, who had challenged the use of technology-based yield estimates for assessing crop losses during the kharif 2023 season.

According to the SGRC, a large number of farmers were deprived of their “rightful insurance claim” after CCE-based yield data was replaced with technology-based estimates.

The matter was reviewed during the committee’s 15th meeting held on May 11 under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Vijeyendra Kumar.

The committee examined representations submitted by farmer organisations, including the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha Haryana, which had sought a review of a decision taken by the State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) in August 2024.

Farmer representative Dr Ram Kanwar said that farmers had approached former Agriculture Minister JP Dalal, who intervened and persuaded the government to constitute the SGRC.

“After Dalal’s intervention, the state government finally constituted the SGRC, which had taken the decision now,” he said.

Under the revised settlement decision, farmers in Bhiwani are expected to receive around ₹213 crore, while farmers in Charkhi Dadri district are expected to receive about ₹42 crore.

The dispute involved 158 insurance units in Bhiwani and 135 insurance units in Charkhi Dadri.