Chandigarh, April 10 Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar said on Friday that the state government should announce the implementation of a crop insurance scheme for farmers during the special Vidhan Sabha session scheduled for April 13.
Jakhar said he has also written a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in this regard.
He said that although the Centre has already implemented a crop insurance scheme, the Punjab government has not notified it.
By doing so, the chief minister is committing a major injustice toward farmers, Jakhar alleged.
He said that farmers in Punjab are currently facing severe natural calamities.
"Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have caused large-scale crop damage. Earlier, floods in 2023 and 2025 also led to massive destruction, and even now many farmers have not received compensation because no crop insurance scheme is in place in Punjab. Even today, farmers remain worried about how their losses due to such disasters will be compensated," the BJP leader said.
He reminded the chief minister that three years ago, it was announced that the Punjab government would introduce its own agricultural insurance scheme in place of the central government's Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
"However, despite three years having passed and farmers suffering losses worth thousands of crores, the scheme is still awaited," he said.
Jakhar said that since the Punjab government has called a special Assembly session on April 13, Mann should fulfil his promise and, without delay, announce Punjab's own crop insurance scheme during this session so that farmers can be compensated during natural disasters.
The AAP government has convened a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on April 13 to amend the Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008, for stricter punishment against sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts.
He further advised that if the state government's financial condition is weak, it should immediately implement the central government's crop insurance scheme, which is already operational in other states and has proven beneficial for farmers.
The BJP leader alleged that every section of society is unhappy with the current government; with farmers not receiving compensation, traders and industrialists not getting a peaceful environment, and poor law and order along with drug issues have created fear among the people.
Jakhar also said that thousands of government employees and pensioners in Punjab are facing financial hardship because the state government has not provided the due increase in Dearness Allowance (DA).
He pointed out that while the central government and neighbouring states are giving 58 per cent DA, Punjab is providing only 42 per cent.
Jakhar demanded that the government should immediately release the pending DA for employees and pensioners.