The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) (Charuni) on Wednesday sought a probe into alleged discrepancies in the data on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ (MFMB) portal ahead of government procurement of paddy.
According to transplantation data available as of August 3, the registered acreage for non-basmati paddy reduced by 4,73,088 acres, whereas the number of registered farmers rose by 3,97,231. According to the data, 4,83,897 farmers registered 28,80,192 acres of non-basmati paddy last year; in contrast, 8,81,128 farmers registered 24,07,104 acres of the same paddy this year.
Union spokesperson Rakesh Bains said that questions have also been raised regarding data from Bhiwani, Gurugram, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Nuh, and Charkhi Dadri districts, where nearly 34,589 acres of paddy cultivation area was recorded last year, yet there was no government purchase.
“In fact, this year, nearly 15,745 acres of paddy have been reported as registered in these six districts up to August 3. The farmers are questioning how such a large increase in the number of farmers occurred alongside a reduction in acreage,” he said.
“The situation can only be clarified by reconciling village-level and khasra number-wise records. There are also discrepancies in land verification. The veracity of these allegations can only be established through an investigation. We have demanded that the government must verify MFMB data—broken down by district, tehsil, village, and khasra number—before paddy procurement begins,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“The situation can only be clarified by reconciling village-level and khasra number-wise records. There are also discrepancies in land verification. The veracity of these allegations can only be established through an investigation. We have demanded that the government must verify MFMB data—broken down by district, tehsil, village, and khasra number—before paddy procurement begins,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Union’s president Gurnam Singh Charuni said that last year, a scam exceeding ₹5,000 crore occurred during the paddy procurement, and if the investigation is not conducted, a similar situation could arise this year.
Bains said that he has raised the issue before the senior officials of the agriculture department, but there was no satisfactory reply.
An agriculture department official requesting anonymity said, “This could have happened during registration on the portal, when farmers or the common services centre operator could have entered any variety of paddy -- basmati or non-basmati. Usually, there is an increase or decrease every season with corresponding correction, but if there is a huge change, there must be a field verification.”