Bikaner, Oct. 28 -- An Minimum Support Price (MSP) fraud in the key producing areas of Bikaner, involving fake crop declarations on barren land, has come to light at a time when Rajasthan is all set to record its highest-ever groundnut production this Kharif season, officials familiar with the matter said. In Sridungargarh and Nokha blocks of Bikaner, officials found that barren and unused lands had been falsely shown as fertile groundnut fields in official records. The girdawari document, used to declare crops for subsidy and support price benefits, were allegedly manipulated to claim Minimum Support Price (MSP) payments on non-existent crops. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Sridungargarh- Shubham Sharma, inspected several such sites after the fraud was reported and confirmed that many lands listed as having standing groundnut crops were actually covered with sand or used for cattle grazing. Several farmers were shocked to learn that crops had been officially registered in their names even though their fields were lying unused. Sharma told HT that - Sridungargarh, considered as Asia's biggest groundnut-producing block, "...received several complaints from farmers that officials and middlemen have allegedly created fake crop records to siphon off government funds meant for farmers." "We ordered an inquiry to verify the allegations and preliminary findings suggest deep flaws in the crop reporting. officials found that girdawari (crop declaration) records were being manipulated. Inspections revealed that dry, barren, and unused plots, sometimes covered in sand or used for cattle grazing, were falsely documented as irrigated farmlands with high-yield groundnut crops. The scam relies on collusion between middlemen and certain officials in the revenue department," he added. The SDM released a video message urging farmers to come forward and report such discrepancies till Tuesday. In nearby Nokha and Panchu areas, farmers suspect the involvement of an organized group, which also appears to have manipulated records. Farmers there alleged that Patwaris demanded bribes for recording correct information, maliciously logging false crop entries, such as guar instead of groundnut, when payments were refused. Former legislator and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader- Bihari Lal Bishnoi told HT that several farmers in Nokha block complained about this manipulation when he called them for Diwali greetings. "I visited Udsar village of Jasarasar tehsil with administrative officials. The fields of Birdi, Imarti Devi and Bhanwar Singh were empty, but the Patwari had recorded groundnut as the crop in the survey. Further, when we went to the field of one Ramsaroop, groundnut crop was standing on the spot, but the crop survey recorded a Guar (Cluster Bean) crop." Bishnoi, informed the Agriculture and Revenue Ministers about this matter demanding action against the culprits involved along with making the electricity bill or water slip (in canal areas) mandatory along with the token during the weighing of groundnut at the procurement centre. According to the state's advance estimates, groundnut production for 2024-20225 is projected at 21.24 lakh tonnes with an increase of nearly 14 percent over last year. Bikaner district led the surge, with production expected to touch 55 lakh quintals, a rise of about 28 percent from the previous season....