7/12 kiosk brings relief to farmers in Nagpur. Here's why more villages need this urgently

Due to administrative roadblocks, it rarely happens that a farmer gets his 7/12 extract in time. But now the situation is all set to change. The district administration of Nagpur in Maharashtra has become the first in the country to install 7/12 kiosk, an ATM-like machine, to issue the extracts to the farmers.

Now they can get the copy of their 7/12 extract within few minutes and that too for as low as Rs 20 per copy.

And Fetri village, 20 odd km from Nagpur, has become the first village in the country to have the kiosk, which has become highly popular among farmers in the region. Incidentally, Fetri village is adopted by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadanvis.

What is the 7/12 extract?

The 7/12 extract is the most important document for a farmer. It is required for almost everything. But at the same time, it is also the bitter truth that every farmer undergoes hardship to procure it.

Since farmers have to go through a complicated process, involving an application and endless wait at the office of the Talathi (accountant) to get it, the process is highly time-consuming. Even if one endures the full hardship, he cannot be sure that the document will be issued on time.

The 7/12 extract is needed when a farmers –

– Applies for a crop loan

– Goes to sell his produce at government procurement centres

– Applies for financial aid for various agriculture-related activities.

And if it is not issued in time, the hard work put in to get it proves futile.

“The initiative is proving to be of great help to farmers who, otherwise are forced to make rounds of the Talathi office for the documents. Now it is a matter of just a few minutes. It is as easy as withdrawing cash from an ATM,” said Anil Gadekar, Nagpur's district information officer.

Since it is a computerised document, it is digitally signed, hence can be used directly without getting attested, he added.

How it came about

Considering the hardship, farmers have to go through to get 7/12 extract, the district collector of Nagpur, Sachin Kurve, has started exploring possibilities to develop a mechanism which could end the hardship.

After much brainstorming, the idea of developing an ATM-like machine was conceived last year. Encouraged by the possibilities of developing such a machine, the district administration roped in two private companies for the task.

“Like an ATM machine, the 7/12 kiosk is connected via the internet to the central land record database at the district collectorate. The farmers have to key in details of their land such as the survey number and the group number of the land. After all the details are keyed in properly, the farmer will have to insert Rs 20 in the machine. It can be either a note of Rs 20 or two notes or coins of Rs 10 each, to get the print of the 7/12 extract,” Gadekar said.

The facility has become popular among farmers at Fetri village as well as other villages in the vicinity.

“This is probably the best ever initiative government has started for farmers. Earlier we had to go to either the Tehsil office or the district collectorate at Nagpur for the 7/12 extracts. And still, there was no guarantee that the document would be issued in time. On many occasions, we had to make multiple rounds of these offices to get the document. But now it is just a matter of few minutes and that too without the indulgence of any government official,” said Vaibhav Gohatre, a farmer from Nagpur.

Ajay Thakur, a farmer from Sonegaon (Lodhi) village in Nagpur district, had applied for aid to construct farm pond. He needed 7/12 extract of his land for the aid.

“I made several rounds of Talathi office to get it. But every time, had to return empty-handed. The kiosk at Fetri came as the boon when I got the document within a few minutes and that too for just Rs 20. And most importantly, it was the last day to submit documents for the financial aid for farm pond,” Thakur said.

Since thousands of farmers would gather at the Tehsil or the collector's office for their 7/12 extracts, it was utterly difficult for the officials concerned to cater to each and every farmer.

“This would result in chaos at the office and occasional heated arguments between the farmers and officials would break out. Due to the workload, farmers would be made to wait for hours. But the kiosk has resolved all the issues. It is currently being operated on an experimental basis at Fetri. It would soon be installed across the state,” Gadekar said.

Edited by Jhinuk Sen