The Maharashtra Agriculture Commissionerate has identified a potential large-scale fraud in insurance claims related to onion crops across eight districts of the state.
A letter issued by Agriculture Director Vinaykumar Awate was sent to district collectors and superintending agriculture officers in Nashik, Dhule, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Satara, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Beed. It flagged significant discrepancies between the insured area and the actual area under onion cultivation.
The Commissionerate’s data shows that onion crops were planted over 75,312 hectares in these districts. However, insurance claims have been submitted for 2,63,136 hectares—an astounding 349% difference. In response, district authorities have been directed to conduct verification through village-level inspections involving insurance company employees. Strict actions are expected to be taken against those responsible for filing fraudulent insurance claims.
