Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announced the digitisation of the agricultural framework under the Centre's SASCI scheme. It will create digital farmer IDs and geo-map land to ensure transparency in schemes like MSP, subsidies, and crop insurance.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday announced that the Delhi Government will digitise the entire agricultural framework related to farming and farmers.
Centre's SASCI Scheme to Drive Digitisation
According to the Chief Minister's Office, under the Centre's SASCI (Special Assistance to the States for Capital Investment) scheme, a digital identity of farmers and a geo-mapped record of agricultural land will be created in Delhi. In return, the Central Government will provide financial assistance to the state. However, this assistance will not be given as a one-time grant but will be released based on the achievement of defined targets
According to CM Rekha Gupta, this significant decision will ensure accurate land records and eliminate discrepancies in schemes such as crop insurance, compensation, minimum support price and subsidies. She added that this system will provide farmers with proper identification, rights and transparency in the overall process.
The Chief Minister stated that the purpose of the Centre's SASCI scheme is to incentivise states that integrate agriculture with digital systems. "Under this scheme, Delhi will implement the State Farmer Registry and the Digital Crop Survey. As the Delhi Government completes these tasks, financial assistance from the Centre will be released accordingly," the CM said, as per the CMO.
CM Gupta further said that the Central Government has announced a special assistance package of RS 5,000 crore for states across the country under this scheme. "This amount will be provided to states that prepare digital records of farmers and farmland. Delhi will now receive its share from this allocation. The government is preparing to create a digital farmer registry, develop a complete digital map of agricultural land, and begin a digital crop survey," she said.
Digital Crop Survey to Replace Manual Inspection
The Chief Minister mentioned that, for the first time in Delhi, manual crop inspection (girdawari) will be replaced with a digital crop survey. The geo-location of every field will be recorded. Photographs of crops will be taken and linked with satellite maps. "This will create an authentic and verifiable record of every field, ensuring transparency in crop insurance, compensation, minimum support price and subsidy schemes. All agricultural land will undergo geo-referencing, making land maps available on a digital platform. Each field will be recorded with an accuracy of 20 metres. This will eliminate problems such as fraudulent claims, incorrect land area reporting and forged documents," CM Gupta emphasised.
Implementation and Project Oversight
According to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, under the conditions of the SASCI scheme, the Delhi Government has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Government. Following this, Delhi will receive incentive-based financial assistance in a phased manner. The scheme provides that the better the performance, the quicker the assistance will be released.
The Delhi Government has assigned the Revenue Department the responsibility for this project, as it is the primary custodian of land records. In addition, a special project monitoring unit will be established to ensure the timely completion of tasks and prevent delays in receiving funds from the Centre.
The Chief Minister said that the Delhi Government believes that this scheme is not limited to technology; it is an arrangement designed to provide farmers with identity, rights and transparency. (ANI)
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