09 April 2026, Haryana: Why are the farmers agitating and sloganeering against the Haryana government and its administration? Why are they worried about procurement of their crop produce despite the government’s assurances? Why are the opposition parties in the state slamming the government and supporting the farmers? Why has the Haryana government’s new Rabi crop procurement policy become a bone of contention?
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However, the government is terming this policy as an easing step for farmers, while farmers and the opposition are calling it a teasing step. What are the guidelines under this new policy that are causing concern?
The Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), vide its letter dated March 28, 2026, has instructed field staff to ensure compliance with certain conditions regarding the Rabi Marketing Season 2026. It has directed that all Secretaries of Market Committees (SMCs) should ensure that vehicles entering the mandi carrying agricultural produce for sale must have a vehicle registration number, so that a photograph of the vehicle number can be captured at the time of issuing a gate pass through the e-Kharid mobile app.
Another condition, which is also troubling farmers, is the mandatory biometric authentication of the farmer or their authorised representative before the auction of foodgrain.
Why are these conditions being imposed?
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini says, “To strengthen the procurement system, the government has adopted three-tier verification, biometric authentication, and geo-fencing.”
While addressing a press conference held at the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on April 9, CM Saini said that the opposition is unnecessarily spreading misinformation regarding the procurement system in an attempt to mislead farmers, which is unfortunate. He stated that the state government is fully committed to the welfare of farmers and will ensure the procurement of every single grain of their produce. The government has implemented comprehensive reforms in the procurement system and appointed nodal officers in every mandi.
The Chief Minister informed that the government has made a three-tier crop verification system mandatory. Under this system, crops brought to procurement centres will be matched with the crops registered by the farmer, making the verification process more accurate and reliable.
He said that Aadhaar-based biometric verification has been made mandatory to ensure the identity of farmers in the procurement process. All mandis and warehouses have been brought under geo-fencing to prevent unauthorised usage and strengthen location-based monitoring.
The Chief Minister further stated that to enhance traceability and accountability of goods in mandis, it has been made mandatory to record vehicle numbers and capture photographs of the vehicle/load while issuing entry gate passes. However, considering farmers’ convenience, in cases of very old or new vehicles where a vehicle number may not be available, gate passes can be issued based on vehicle photographs alone.
The Chief Minister further informed that before stock is moved out of mandis, mandatory approval from both the transporter and the Market Committee Secretary has been ensured for exit gate passes. This multi-agency verification system is enabling secure and authenticated movement of stock. He said that as of April 8, 2026, a total of 1,74,635 exit gate passes have been issued without any issues, reflecting the success of the new system. He claimed that these technology-based initiatives of the state government have enhanced transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the procurement process, directly benefiting farmers.
Commenting on the conditions laid by the government, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Chief Minister of Haryana and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, stated on April 3 that while procurement has indeed commenced in the mandis (grain markets), farmers are receiving nothing but distress. Conditions—such as mandatory number plates on tractors, biometric verification, gate passes, and the requirement of three representatives—are being imposed in such a manner that farmers, out of sheer frustration, are compelled to sell their produce outside the mandis. He asserted that this appears to be yet another scam in the making. After all, not every individual owns a tractor. The government is imposing conditions that are forcing farmers to sell their crops at distress prices. The Haryana government, he alleged, is effectively preparing to treat farmers like prisoners. Hooda affirmed, “We stand firmly with the farmers and will resolutely oppose the government.” He further said that he—along with other party office-bearers and MLAs—will begin touring mandis in their respective constituencies to assess the ground realities firsthand.
In a statement issued on April 5, the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja targeted the BJP government over the new procurement policy and said that newly imposed conditions related to crop sales had forced commission agents (arhtiyas) into a difficult position, ultimately leading to disruption in mandi operations. She alleged that farmers, traders, and labourers associated with the market system were now bearing the brunt of these policies.
Kumari Selja said unnecessary restrictions are being imposed on farmers, while traders are being put under pressure. The Congress leader further pointed out that despite repeated natural calamities, farmers were neither receiving adequate compensation nor being provided ease in transporting their produce to mandis. Instead, she added, multiple conditions were being imposed, aggravating their hardships.
Kumari Selja urged the government to immediately revise its policies and introduce practical solutions to provide relief to farmers, traders, and workers. She warned that failure to take timely corrective measures could severely impact the state’s agricultural and trading systems.
A delegation of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), led by its National President Abhay Singh Chautala, submitted a memorandum on March 28 to the Governor of Haryana regarding the establishment of procurement centres for wheat purchase and the difficulties farmers are facing in selling their produce.
Speaking to the media, Abhay Singh Chautala stated that the government has imposed several conditions on wheat procurement, such as mandatory registration of tractor-trolley numbers, obtaining a gate pass upon entering the mandi (grain market), undergoing biometric verification, and the requirement of having three designated nominees. He questioned the rationale behind imposing all these conditions, noting that such stipulations had never existed for wheat procurement in the past.
He also raised the question of how farmers arriving with their produce on traditional modes of transport—such as buffalo carts, bullock carts, or camel carts—would be able to obtain a gate pass.
Farmers have also come forward to oppose the new procurement policy. A state-level Lalkaar rally was held at Jind on March 31 by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha under the banner of its Haryana unit, wherein farmer leaders expressed their anger against what they termed as ruinous policies of the state and central governments. Sharing the gist of the rally programme, Inderjit Singh, National Vice President of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), reported that farmers opposed the BJP government of Haryana for imposing coercive restrictions on the sale of crops. The SKM leaders accused the Nayab Singh Saini government of facilitating a large-scale bogus paddy procurement scam. Instead of bringing the influential persons to book, they alleged, the government was forcing farmers to accept unacceptable and harsh conditions for selling their produce. It was announced through a voice vote that farmers would not abide by the recent conditions and demanded their immediate withdrawal.
Ground Reality
Sharing a video of a seriously ill elderly farmer, who is not even in a position to walk on his own and is being supported by two youths for mandatory biometric authentication, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda commented on his Twitter account on April 6, 2026, “The treatment being meted out to farmers is extremely unfortunate. Farmers of the state—particularly the sick and the elderly—are facing distress due to the government’s harsh and impractical conditions. Complex regulations—such as biometric authentication, the requirement for three guarantors, and tractor verification—have made it difficult for farmers even to access mandis. It appears that conditions are being deliberately engineered to drive farmers away from mandis, compelling them to sell their produce to middlemen at distress prices.”
Isn’t this video, if true, a blot on the administration and its policy?
Shouldn’t the Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini, immediately take stern action against officials whose actions, negligence, or laxity forced this seriously ill farmer to come to the mandi for biometric authentication to sell his foodgrain?
Now, some related questions that still create confusion among farmers require the government’s attention. It has made number plates mandatory on vehicles carrying foodgrains to mandis, but what about small farmers who bring their produce on animal-driven carts, as not every individual owns a tractor? Also, for elderly farmers, biometric authentication or nominating a representative on the portal is becoming a hurdle. The government should rethink its decision and come forward with a simpler solution.
Policy framers should always keep in mind— “Rules must facilitate, not obstruct.”
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