Eight chikoo farmers from Bordi who suffered a cumulative loss of six lakh rupees due to humidity have been denied their insurance claims because of bureaucratic bungling. Crops damaged due to climatic conditions are insured by the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna scheme. Mid Day (MD) of January 12, 2017 states that the managements of both the Bank of Baroda and Reliance General Insurance Company Limited have left the chikoo growers high and dry, reportedly because of confusion over the address of the new insurance partner.
Shahrukh Irani, whose mother had filed a two lakh rupee claim for damage to four hectares of fruit trees, told MD: "After our crops got damaged during the monsoon, we immediately filled the required papers and submitted them at the Bank of Baroda’s Bordi branch. On July 13, 2016 the Bank sent the documents and the cheque to Reliance Insurance – but at a wrong address – setting off the entire debacle.” The documents were returned to the Bank on August 1, 2016, but the Bank reportedly failed to rectify the situation or even inform the farmers. The deadline having passed, the insurance company is said to have rejected the chikoo growers’ claims. "So now what happens to our lost crop? What about the damage?” Irani wonders.
The Bank claims that the stresses of demonetization contributed to the situation and blames the insurance company for not updating its address after shifting. The rejoinder from Reliance is: "What the Bank did was to Google the office address and post the documents… (When) the government regulations on the scheme clearly mention the Goregaon office, why did they send (the documents) to the Wadala office? The date has now passed and we cannot do anything.”