Farmers in Kurukshetra locked the naib tehsildar’s office at the New Mini Secretariat on Tuesday, alleging that incorrect paddy and land records on a government portal were preventing them from selling their produce at mandis. The office was reopened after SDM Aman Kumar assured the protesters that the errors would be corrected by 2 pm on Wednesday.
The protest was led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh). The farmers reached the office around 11.30 am carrying a chain and lock, secured the entrance and staged a sit-in outside. They alleged that discrepancies in crop and land records had affected farmers from around 20 villages within a single patwar circle.
Sanjay Nambardar, district president of the union, alleged that revenue officials had entered incorrect information on the portal without physically visiting the fields. He also claimed that farmers had been sent between the offices of the SDM, tehsildar and patwari without their records being corrected.
According to the farmers, incorrect entries affected more than 50 people. In some cases, non-basmati paddy was recorded as basmati, while agricultural land was marked as barren. The protesters said these errors created difficulties in selling paddy and obtaining gate passes at procurement centres.
Farmer Ravinder Singh said the portal initially recorded non-basmati paddy on nearly 13 acres of his land. He alleged that the records later showed around seven acres under basmati paddy and nearly two acres as barren. According to him, the incorrect entries created hurdles in selling his crop and obtaining a gate pass.
The farmers said they had been visiting government offices for nearly 20 days to seek corrections. They also submitted a complaint during a grievance redressal camp, but alleged that the issue remained unresolved. Their account points to the operational importance of accurate digital crop and land records at the point when farmers seek access to procurement systems.
Before reaching the administrative complex, the protesters assembled near Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk on KDB Road and marched to the New Mini Secretariat. After locking the naib tehsildar’s office, they continued their sit-in until SDM Aman Kumar heard their grievances and gave the assurance on correction of the records.
The farmers unlocked the office around 2 pm on Tuesday. The administration’s next stated step is to rectify the incorrect entries by 2 pm on Wednesday, allowing the affected farmers to pursue paddy sales and obtain the required gate passes.
