J U D G M E N T.
Fact of the case in brief :- The Complainant in this case is a farmer who has grown Paddy Crop in the Khariff Season 2011 on his land of Village Ranimunda which is recorded in the name of his father Sribatsa Supkaar and the complainant is a customer of Utkal Gramya Bank Nilji Branch having a SB Account vide A/c No. 4383. He is a Non-loanee farmer insured his Agricultural land measuring an area of 4 hectare as 150% of actual yielding of crop and deposited Rs. 4,500/- (Rupees four thousand and five hundred) only in his SB Account of Nilji Branch on dated 29.7.2011. The complainant has submitted his proposal form for Crop Insurance which was accepted by the B.M. Nilji Branch. Accordingly he has deposited the Premium Rs.4500/- in good faith upon his Bank for the Crop Insurance. The Bank has remitted the Premium amount to the Agricultural Insurance Company. When all the farmers of his locality receive the Insurance benefit from the Agricultural Insurance Company the petitioner is deprived from the insurance benefit and later on he came to know that he was not entitle for the insurance benefit.
Due to the deficiency in service of O.P.No.1 & O.P. No.2 the petitioner has suffered financial hardship and mental agony which need to be compensated by the opposite parties. It is submitted that the O.P.No.1 U.G.B. Nilji Branch has been paid Service Charge (a) 2.5% on net Agricultural Insurance Premium collected from the farmers and remitted the same for ancillary activities for insured farmer from Agricultural Insurance Company Ltd.
The Petitioner/Complainant has claimed for relief and compensation for his Crop damaged in the Agricultural land over the 4 hectare of land along with 18% per annum interest till realization of insured amount and for financial hardship and mental agony suffered due to deficiency in service of the opposite parties and pray for all relief the Hon’ble Forum deem fit and proper.
The documents submitted by petitioner as below :-
- Voter Identity Card,
- Copy of S.B. Account U.G.B. Nilji B:ranch,
- Premium deposited slip,
- Copy of ROR of Mouza Ranimunda No. 272, and
- Affidavit.
The O.P. No.1 has admitted that the petitioner is an account holder of UGB Nilji Branch vide A/c No. 4383 and he has deposited Rs. 4,500/- on dated 29.7.2011 in the Bank. The O.P. No.1 i.e. Branch Manager, Utkal Gramya Bank has no knowledge about the grown of Paddy in the Kharif Season 2011 by the complainant over Khata No. 272 Mouza Ranimunda.
As per the version of O.P. No.1 the complainant must submit the proposal form in the prescribed format along with documentary evidence in regard to possession of cultivable land and “Area Sown Certificate” obtaining from the concerned Agricultural Extension Officer / Junior Agricultural Officer as per guideline for Crop Insurance under (N.A.I.S). The O.P.No.1 has humbly submitted that the petitioner/complainant has neither approached our Bank for Crop Insurance nor submitted the required documents during Kharif Season 2011 even not submitted any documentary evidence to prove that he has deposited the required documents in the Bank. Hence the contention of the complaint is denied.
The complaint of the petitioner that he has deposited Rs.4,500/- on 29.7.2011 in his SB Account vide A/c No. 4383 towards Crop Insurance Premium for 150% (a) of 4 hectares of land. In respect to the Premium the 4 hectares of Paddy Crop during Kharif Season 2011, the exact Premium is Rs. 5497.42 paise as issued by guideline Govt. of Odisha vide Resolution No. 6057/111-CR-16/2011 Co-op dated 20.6.2011 is filed herewith). The amount Rs. 4,500/- deposited by the complainant is much less the required premium for 150% as Crop Insurance.
The complainant simply deposited Rs. 4,500/- in the Bank and it is submitted that the endorsement No. 76 referred by complainant in Para 4 of his petition is the Scroll Number given by receiving Cashier of the Branch in the counterfoil of the Pay in Slip tendered by the depositors, while receiving cash and has no relevance in relation to Crop Insurance proposal.
The claim of the complainant that he has deposited proposal form and other documents in the Branch before the Branch Manager Nilji on 29.7.2011 is farfetched is as much as Kharif Paddy Crop is grown or sown by the farmers in the area during the month of June-July and not in the month of April.
The O.P.No.1 submitted that the petitioner/complainant has neither submitted any document/ or proposal form nor deposited the premium amount at our Nilji Branch for Crop Insurance during the Kharif Season 2011 and the O.P.No.1 has no way responsible for the loss if any caused by complainant and he is not entitle for any compensation and relief.
The O.P.No.2 the Agricultural Insurance Company of India called A.I.C. having its network of offices in different states one of the branch office situated at Plot No. 87 Satya Nagar, Bhubaneswar as Regional Office to implement Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana (R.K.B.Y.) for National Crop Insurance Scheme for the State of Odisha from 1999-2000 season. The Govt. of Odisha has implemented the R.K.B.Y. Scheme from 1999-2000 Season onwards. The State Government has notified Gram Panchayat as a Unit Crop Insurance for Paddy during the Kharif season 2011 (Copy of the notification enclosed in annexure-I). All farmers growing the notified crops in the notified area are eligible for coverage, Farmers availing Crop loan notified Crops from Commercial Banks, RRB, and District Co-Operative Banks are compulsory covered and for non-loanee farmers the scheme is optional. A nominal premium of 2.5% or actual rate whichever is lower is charged for food crops oilseed, horticulture etc. So the sum insured can be either the loan amount or the value threshold yield or value of 150% of average yield as per option of farmers. The premium in respect of small and marginal farmers (less than 2 hectare of land) is subsidized by the Central Government and State Government.
In the event of any loss the O.P.No.2 arranges compensation on the basis of area approach which is notified area and disburses the amount to the concerning financial Institution i.e. Nodal Bank advising then to credit to the accounts of the farmers as per their declarations. No amount is credited to the farmers in case there is no claim in that area. This process automatically followed. Nobody has to dodge a claim to be eligible for claim or compensation. Compensation based on the notified Insurance Unit as a whole.
In every season the O.P.No.2 has implemented the scheme regarding the claim payments, it is submitted that the insurance for the Crop is done Unit area-wise as per notification issued by Govt. of Odisha and for that the Branches of the Nodal Bank collects the premium from the farmers of the concerned area and send a note of the same to the designated Nodal Office, who in turn sends the consolidated insurance declaration insurance Unit-wise and Crop-wise to the O.P.No.2 designated in the R.K.B.Y. Scheme as (Implementing Agency) stating the number of farmers, Crop, Season, Year, District, Block insured area along with premium. However no information on individual farmer is supplied for the implementing agency.
During Kharif Season 2011 the O.P.No.2 N.A.I.S. has send the total crop insured amount to the concerned Bank the claim amount of Rs. 567702768.99 on 10.8.2012 through R.T.G.S. to Regional Manager, Utkal Gramya Bank, Bolangir for 3 districts including Nuapada district for loanee & non-loanee farmer out of which Rs.163817376 for Timanpur of Sinapali Block for 135 nos. of loanee farmers from which the premium collected for the Kharif Season 2011.
So the O.P.No.2 has not responsible for any deficiency in service for settlement of any claims.
O R D E R.
Perused the records and the Hon’ble Forum has come to finding that, the complainant has deposited Rs. 4.500/- cash in the Utkal Gramya Bank, Nilji Branch on dated 29.7.2011 as an normal depositor he has not filed any Proposal Form along with relevant documents for the Crop Insurance in the Kharif Season 2011 and the Premium as he filed in the complaint petition is too less and not appropriate for the Insurance of his Agricultural land he has sown Paddy in the Kharif season 2011.
Hence, this case is not maintainable.
Judgment pronounced in the Open Court of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Nuapada, this the 30th day of December 2014.
Sd/-Mr.K.K.Tripathy Sd/-Mr.K.K.Tripathy
President, President,
Dist.C.D.R.Forum,Nuapada. Dist.C.D.R.Forum,Nuapada.
I a g r e e I a g r e e
Sd/-Mrs.T.S.Panda Sd/-Mr.B.B.Mishra
Member, Member,
Dist.C.D.R.Forum,Nuapada. Dist.C.D.R.Forum,Nuapada.
