The “Direct Benefit Transfer” (DBT) promise faced a harsh reality check today in Ambala as the festive week ended not with prosperity, but with protest. Angry farmers, still waiting for their hard-earned money, refused to allow any further procurement activity until their dues were cleared.
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Broken 72-Hour Vow: Farmers pointed out that while the government officially claims to transfer funds within three days of the “J-Form” generation, a technical glitch in the linkage between the Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal and the banking servers has allegedly caused a massive backlog.
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Financial Distress: The delay is particularly stinging as it coincides with the peak Rabi sowing window. “We need the paddy money to buy DAP fertilizer and seeds for the wheat crop. We are being forced to take loans at high interest rates from private lenders just because the government system has stalled,” said a protesting farmer at the site.
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Official Response: The District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC) arrived at the Mandi to pacify the protesters. Officials claimed that over ₹9,000 crore has already been transferred across the state, and the Ambala delays are “local technical issues” involving the verification of bank accounts for nearly 1,200 farmers.
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Escalation Warning: The BKU (Charuni) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the administration. If the pending ₹45 crore for the Ambala cluster is not released by Monday, the union has threatened to block the NH-44 near the Mohra border.
Community Sentiment
“We have fulfilled our part by bringing clean grain to the market. Now the government is failing its part. A 10-day delay is not a ‘technical glitch’—it’s a lack of will. We can’t celebrate festivals or sow our next crop with empty pockets,” said a member of the local Mandi committee.
