Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Report on insurance denied

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has refuted media reports that his department was posing hurdles for ‘Kissan Sree,’ an insurance programme for farmers, proposed by the Agriculture Department.

At a press conference here on Friday, he said the Finance Department had only posed certain queries on the file referred to it by the Agriculture Department. And these queries were but part of the normal administrative procedures.

Dr. Isaac said it was natural for the Finance Department, which handled the finances of the government, to seek a clear picture about the financial implications of the scheme. (The scheme envisages insurance coverage against accident and death due to accident for the farmers.)

The queries related to some basic information on the subject: how many farmers are to be covered by the scheme and what are the criteria for determining the beneficiaries?

Since the usual practice for such insurance schemes was to ask the beneficiaries to put in a share of the premium, the Finance Department also suggested examining that possibility, Dr. Isaac said.

He alleged that there was an organised attempt on the part of the media to “twist the facts” and target him and his department.

He said the LDF government was committed to implementing the farmers’ insurance scheme. It was there in the Governor’s address to the Legislative Assembly.

But the Finance Department was required to seek all information when the scheme involved a new financial obligation, outside the budget in this case, Dr. Isaac said.

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