Chandigarh/Hisar, Feb 16: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed proceedings regarding a show-cause notice issued by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare aimed at blacklisting Kshema General Insurance Company Limited. The judicial intervention, granted on February 9, halts the de-empanelment process until the next scheduled hearing on July 8.
The federal notice, originally issued on February 3, required the insurer to justify why it should not be barred from implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) starting from the kharif 2026 season. This action followed formal complaints from the governments of Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan, which cited serious operational lapses in the execution of crop insurance and weather-based schemes.
Central to the dispute is a directive from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) regarding rabi 2023-24 claims. Documents from the Haryana government affirmed that the company was ordered to settle claims totaling Rs 85 crore across the Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, and Nuh districts. Despite a rejected review plea at the federal level, state officials maintained that the firm failed to comply with the seven-day deadline for claim disbursement.
“The persistent non-compliance has caused significant hardship for farmers and hindered the objectives of the national insurance program,” a state communication stated.
The Haryana government further noted a substantial backlog in Cluster-III, which includes eight districts under the company’s purview. Officials asserted that this pendency persists despite the submission of all necessary documentation by local authorities and affected farmers.
Meanwhile, Balbir Singh Thakan of the All India Kisan Sabha stated that a lack of timely responses from the Haryana Department of Agriculture in court contributed to the current legal stalemate. He maintained that the department’s failure to file necessary replies led to the high court’s decision to stay the Centre’s blacklisting efforts.
