Haryana’s crop diversification drive figures are as diversified

According to agriculture department data, about 1.11 lakh farmers have opted for the scheme and registered 1.26 lakh acre agricultural land on the Mera Pani-Meri Virasat portal.

Six months after the Haryana government launched a financial incentive-linked diversification drive to encourage farmers to switch over to alternate crops in place of water guzzler paddy, facts regarding the flagship scheme remain unclear.

The objective of this scheme is to encourage farmers to cultivate alternative crops in the area that was under paddy cultivation last year. (HT File)

In May, farmers switching over to alternate crops were promised ₹7,000 per acre incentive under the Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Scheme. Under this policy, 25% of the total incentive is given to the farmers after physical verification of the crop sown while the remaining 75% is paid after the second round of verification during harvesting.

The objective of this scheme is to encourage farmers to cultivate alternate crops such as maize in the area that was under paddy cultivation last year. Reason: The cultivation of paddy has contributed to degradation of natural resources such as water and soil. Also, the ground water table of Haryana has been declining steadily.

The state government had launched the crop diversification drive ahead of paddy transplantation that began in mid-June. The land under paddy transplantation in the state is about 32 lakh acre.

According to agriculture department data, about 1.11 lakh farmers have opted for the scheme and registered 1.26 lakh acre agricultural land on the Mera Pani-Meri Virasat portal for sowing crops such as maize, bajra, cotton, pulses, vegetables etc.

Contrary to the initial excitement that the farmers’ response triggered, about 39,000 hectare land where paddy was not sown was identified during the first stage of physical verification. The revenue officers committees were set up for physical verification in every district.

During the second stage of verification before harvesting, the agriculture department has so far identified only 5,000 hectare land where alternative crops were sown, as per the data compiled till October 29.

“Though the second stage of verification has been done, the data is still being tabulated,” said Vijay Singh Dahiya, director general, agriculture department. He pointed out that it is a voluntary scheme that targets to diversify one lakh hectare.

Dahiya said during the first round of physical verification, about 40,000 hectare land was identified to have been diversified and ₹2,000 incentive each was released to the farmers.

Sources say the second round of verification has thrown data that may leave the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP coalition government red-faced. “The second physical verification data also raises a question mark over the authenticity of the first verification,” said a well-placed source.

The largest number of farmers (12,403) opting for this scheme were from Jind district who had registered 14,583 hectare for diversification. In the first stage, 5,342 hectare was verified and in second stage it came down to 751 hectare.

Similarly, in Sirsa district, 10,536 farmers had registered 14,338 hectare land but the first verification found crop diversification in 4,937 hectare.

In his October 15 affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court, chief secretary Vijai Vardhan while listing various steps including ‘crop diversification’ to contain stubble burning had stated: “The flagship scheme of Mera Paani Meri Virasat under which an area of about 1,00,000 acres has been diversified to another alternative crops.”

In yet another spin into the land diversified so far, agriculture minister JP Dalal on Monday claimed that the farmers have cultivated alternative crops “other than paddy over 1.27 lakh hectare area...”