E-panchnama trial success in Nagpur division paves way for statewide roll-out

Time of India

11-05-2025

Nagpur: Success of
E-panchnama
system — a digital tool designed to streamline
crop damage reporting
for farmers, in Nagpur division has opened the way for a statewide roll-out within the year. Speaking at Tech-Wari, a technology learning week held in Mumbai from May 5 to 8, divisional commissioner
Vijayalakshmi Bidari
presented the success of the system.Bidari, the brain behind the initiative, highlighted how traditional panchnama process for assessing crop damage, done manually and passed through multiple administrative levels, often took up to a year.
"By the time relief reached farmers, many were already burdened by debt," she said.The new digital system allows talathis (village-level officers) to report crop losses directly through a mobile app.
The app includes drop-down menus, GPS tagging, and photo upload features, making the process faster and transparent. "In 2023–24, over 46,000 e-panchnamas were successfully completed, and more than 40,000 were filed in 2024–25," she said.Bidari said while training sessions for Konkan, Nashik, and Amravati divisions have already been completed, once the remaining two divisions are trained, the system can be rolled out across Maharashtra within the year.Developed in collaboration with agencies like Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC), the app integrates existing govt datasets such as Mahavedh (for rainfall alerts), IRS (for unique identification), land records, and e-peek pahani (crop data). Officials say the e-panchnama system will not only speed up compensation process but also increase accuracy, transparency, and accountability — offering much-needed relief to farmers affected by natural disasters.Nagpur: Success of E-panchnama system — a digital tool designed to streamline crop damage reporting for farmers, in Nagpur division has opened the way for a statewide roll-out within the year. Speaking at Tech-Wari, a technology learning week held in Mumbai from May 5 to 8, divisional commissioner Vijayalakshmi Bidari presented the success of the system.Bidari, the brain behind the initiative, highlighted how traditional panchnama process for assessing crop damage, done manually and passed through multiple administrative levels, often took up to a year. "By the time relief reached farmers, many were already burdened by debt," she said.The new digital system allows talathis (village-level officers) to report crop losses directly through a mobile app. The app includes drop-down menus, GPS tagging, and photo upload features, making the process faster and transparent. "In 2023–24, over 46,000 e-panchnamas were successfully completed, and more than 40,000 were filed in 2024–25," she said.Bidari said while training sessions for Konkan, Nashik, and Amravati divisions have already been completed, once the remaining two divisions are trained, the system can be rolled out across Maharashtra within the year.Developed in collaboration with agencies like Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC), the app integrates existing govt datasets such as Mahavedh (for rainfall alerts), IRS (for unique identification), land records, and e-peek pahani (crop data). Officials say the e-panchnama system will not only speed up compensation process but also increase accuracy, transparency, and accountability — offering much-needed relief to farmers affected by natural disasters.
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