Selja, Member of Parliament from Sirsa, former Union Minister, Congress General Secretary and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, has criticised the Haryana Government for what she described as forcing farmers and ordinary citizens into a maze of online portals and complicated digital procedures. She said technology should make governance easier, but repeated portal shutdowns, technical glitches and cumbersome rules have instead created unnecessary difficulties for people across the state.

Referring to the ongoing Meri Fasal Mera Byora registration process, Selja expressed concern over the closure of the portal during the kharif season. Citing publicly available figures, she said nearly 67.35 lakh acres have been sown under kharif crops in Haryana, while only around 57.56 lakh acres have been registered on the portal. This leaves nearly 9.79 lakh acres yet to be recorded, creating uncertainty for thousands of farmers as crop registration is essential for government procurement and several agriculture-related benefits.

She said the situation is particularly worrying because the registration deadline is approaching while verification and other formalities for a large number of farmers remain incomplete. Farmers, she asserted, should not suffer because of technical failures beyond their control. The government must immediately extend the registration deadline and provide an effective offline alternative until the portal is restored.

Selja said the problem is not limited to the agriculture sector. Similar complaints are being reported from tehsils and various government departments where slow servers and non-functional portals are delaying registrations and other essential public services. A digital governance system, she said, is meaningful only if it saves citizens’ time and reduces administrative hurdles. If people are forced to make repeated visits to government offices because of technical failures, accountability must be fixed.

She further alleged that while the government continues to shift more services online, it has failed to simplify procedures. Many citizens, particularly in rural areas, struggle to complete online applications or upload documents because of limited internet connectivity and lack of technical support. She stressed that a practical offline mechanism should always remain available so that no individual is denied government services solely because of technological issues.

Calling for comprehensive reforms, Selja said technology should function as a facilitator rather than an obstacle. She urged the government to strengthen portal infrastructure, simplify digital procedures, fix responsibility for prolonged technical failures and ensure that no farmer loses procurement benefits or other government assistance because of portal-related problems.

She added that governance should focus on delivering convenience and timely public services rather than forcing citizens and farmers to struggle through complicated online systems.

POD/DESK