Why farm portals are becoming easy tools for scamsters

The state government's digital initiatives in agriculture, such as the Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal and schemes like Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana (BBY), are increasingly being misused by fraudsters—turning these platforms into a "blessing in disguise" for scamsters.

Earlier this week, farmers from four villages—Hassangarh, Gurana, Litani, and Badhawar in Hisar district—filed complaints with the CM flying squad, alleging that their land details were fraudulently registered on the MFMB portal for bajra cultivation by individuals based as far away as Nuh district. Acting on the complaints, the squad initiated an inspection of agriculture department records and began investigation.

Modus operandi

The motive behind the fake registrations is to claim government funds under schemes like the BBY, which provides Rs 575 per quintal as compensation over the base price of Rs 2,200 per quintal for bajra. The amount is credited directly to the account linked to the MFMB portal. Fraudsters have managed to upload their account details on land owned by unsuspecting farmers, thereby diverting the compensation and crop loss relief to their own accounts. There are mainly three portals: MFMB (meant for crop registration); e-kharid (procurement details are uploaded by agencies); and e-kshatipurti (meant to upload crop loss data). The two portals, e-kharid and e-kshatipurti, are in sync with the MFMB portal.

In one such case, a farmer from Litani was unaware that his land had been registered for bajra cultivation by someone in Nuh. Similarly, compensation meant for genuine crop loss has also been diverted through account registrations.

Experts say that these digital loopholes have been exploited repeatedly. Though a similar scam was exposed two years ago, the recurrence of such incidents has again brought the reliability of the portal system into question.

Scam detected in 2023-24

On January 8, 2024, the police in Bhiwani district arrested six persons for fraudulently uploading their personal details on the MFMB portal to claim bajra. This was in connection with a case registered at Siwani police station on May 10, 2023, based on a complaint by the CM flying squad. The FIR had named 185 accused. The scam came to light when a farmer from Dariyapur filed a complaint that prompted an audit of land records.

According to the Revenue Department, bajra was sown on 1,097 acres at Dariyapur in 2022, whereas the MFMB portal showed registration for 3,343 acres—likely intended to fraudulently claim BBY compensation. Though the investigation is still on in the case, the probe was reportedly hampered due to lack of coordination between the police and the agriculture department.

Wider scope of scam

Dr Ram Kanwar, an agriculture expert who examined the 2022-23 matter, estimated that a fraud of about Rs 1.12 crore may have been committed at Dariyapur alone, with compensation under BBY averaging Rs 5,000 per acre. Similar irregularities have been found at Miran village, where bajra was sown on 902 acres according to girdawari records, but the MFMB portal showed registration for 1,923 acres. Widespread discrepancies have also been reported in other districts, including Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Palwal, Rewari, and Mahendragarh. He suspects the total scam may be over a hundred crores.

Disbursements under BBY

In 2022, the government disbursed Rs 390 crore to 2,76,620 farmers under BBY, while in 2021, Rs 439 crore was paid to 2,42,518 farmers. Mahendragarh district topped the list, receiving Rs 91.70 crore for 67,002 farmers in 2022 and around Rs 100 crore for 56,075 farmers in 2021. The government had not offered BBY in 2024 to bajra farmers when agencies procured the produce on MSP. This year, there is registration of bajra on about 12 lakh acres in Haryana.