Offline e-crop survey registration open till Jan 15 for farmers: Bawankule

Farmers across Maharashtra who missed e-crop survey registration will be allowed to register through an offline process till January 15 to help them sell their produce at government procurement centres, said Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday.

He made the announcement in the legislative assembly while replying to a calling attention motion, a procedure that allows a member to bring an urgent public matter to a minister's notice.

The online e-crop survey portal has been closed and cannot be reopened due to technical constraints, but the government has decided to open an offline window so that genuine farmers do not suffer losses, said Bawankule.

Maharashtra's e-crop survey, known as E-Pik Pahani', allows farmers to self-report their crop details via a mobile application.

Bawankule said farmers who failed to complete the e-crop survey registration due to technical issues or other reasons can submit offline applications to the concerned authorities till January 15.

The minister was responding to concerns raised by MLA Vikram Pachpute, who said that despite multiple extensions, many farmers could not do the registration.

Pachpute said the crops of such farmers cannot be procured by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) or other government agencies unless the e-crop survey is reflected on the 7/12 land record.

The revenue minister said a committee headed by the sub-divisional officer will be constituted to process offline applications at respective levels. The committee will include the tehsildar, block development officer and taluka agriculture officer, he added.

He said the committee will examine complaints, conduct spot inspections and prepare panchnamas' (spot inspection reports) where required, even though the Kharif season has ended, and submit its report to the district collector.

The collector will then forward the report to the Centre through the marketing department to facilitate procurement of farmers' produce, he said.

Bawankule said the offline facility is meant only for genuine farmers and directed officials to take precautions to prevent misuse by traders. He said the committees must carry out thorough verification, as the possibility of traders attempting to take advantage of the offline process cannot be ruled out.