Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) The West Bengal government has spent Rs 3,564 crore this fiscal under a crop insurance scheme for farmers in the state to protect them from any financial loss due to natural calamities, Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said in the assembly on Wednesday.

The minister said 16 crops are covered under the 'Sashya Bima' (crop insurance) scheme.

Also Read | Amit Shah Counters TMC MP Saket Gokhale in Rajya Sabha Says 'I Am Not Here With Anyone's Mercy, I Have Won Elections 7 Times' (Watch Video).

Around 1.12 crore farmers have already benefitted under the crop insurance scheme for which an amount of Rs 3,564 crore has been spent this fiscal, he said.

Under the insurance scheme, a distressed farmer gets compensation within 45 days of an appeal made to the state to offset crop damage due to calamities, he added.

Also Read | 'Kavach 4.0', India's Cutting-Edge Automatic Train Protection, To Equip 10,000 Locomotives in the Next Phase, Says Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)