Chhattisgarh: Congress alleges fertiliser, seed shortage, govt rebuts
Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant, who flagged the shortages during the Zero hour in the Chhattisgarh assembly, said the BJP-led Vishnu Deo Sai government had failed to ensure adequate supply of essential farm inputs such as urea and DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) fertilisers.
'The government appears to be deliberately creating an artificial fertiliser crisis to reduce paddy cultivation,' said Mahant.
The Opposition claimed that the government reduced the target for DAP distribution for Kharief 2025 by 30,000 tonnes over last year's figures and only 1.01 lakh tonnes had been supplied so far.
Similarly, 3.59 lakh tonnes of urea has been distributed aainst a target of 7.12 lakh tonnes, they said.
Congress leaders said that while fertilisers are available in the open market, shopkeepers were taking advantage of the shortage in cooperative societies by engaging in black marketing.
They said the small and marginal farmers, who make up 80% of the state's farmers, were the worst affected.
Chhattisgarh agriculture minister Ramvichar Netam said the availability of phosphatic fertilisers depended on imports, which were under strain due to global conditions. Netam said the government had anticipated the supply chain challenges and started making arrangements for alternative fertilisers, he said.
'An estimated demand of 6.90 lakh metric tonnes of phosphatic fertilisers, 6.40 lakh metric tonnes have been stored and over 4.25 lakh metric tonnes lifted by farmers. Over 2.14 lakh metric tonnes still remain available,' the minister said.
For urea, more than 6 lakh metric tonnes have been stored so far, of which 4.37 lakh tonnes have already been lifted by farmers, leaving over 1.62 lakh tonnes in stock, he added.
He rejected the Congress's allegations, stating that the fertiliser demand is calculated for the full cropping season and supplies were still coming in. He also denied any revision in the DAP target, asserting that the government had instead arranged to store additional NPK and SSP fertilisers to compensate for any global supply disruptions.
Netam also said that of the 4,81,730 quintals of seeds stored through cooperative and departmental means, 4,43,452 quintals had already been lifted by farmers, and over 38,000 quintals were still available.
The minister added that a statewide crackdown on black marketing has ensured that all fertilisers are being sold at the prescribed rates.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tharoor unlikely to speak on debate on Pahalgam attack, Op Sindoor issues in LS
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is unlikely to speak on the debate on Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor that gets underway in LS on Monday. "He has not asked the party to be fielded in the debate. The party too has not approached him either till now," sources said. It is to be seen who opens the debate for opposition or initiates the debate in case the chair asks anti-BJP benches to take the lead. The discussion is not being done under any specific rule of LS procedures and is also not based on any notice, sources said, quoting consultations between opposition, government and Speaker. While the belief is that Rahul Gandhi may start, there have been times like during opposition's no-confidence motion against Modi government on Manipur ethnic conflict in Aug 2023 when he let his now deputy Gaurav Gogoi to initiate, and himself spoke later. But Tharoor skipping the debate would set the tongues wagging, as the Thiruvananthapuram MP has had run-ins with the party since he defied Congress to lead a delegation constituted by Modi government for the global outreach on the India-Pakistan conflict. As Tharoor threw his weight behind the government on the issue of conflict and also on the pause of hostilities, there was a frequent to and fro between him and Congress members who were critical of the government.
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Kang becomes 1st in AAP to voice concern over Punjab's contentious land pooling policy
Chandigarh: Amid massive opposition to AAP govt's controversial land pooling policy in Punjab, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang on Sunday advised his party's supremo, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to hear "objections raised by farmer unions on the policy". In a post on X on Sunday evening, Kang, who is the first AAP leader to publicly voice his concerns regarding the controversial policy, said, "Govt should move forward only after taking farmers and our farmer unions into confidence through dialogue." He called on the state govt to listen to the farmers with empathy and address their issues through meaningful dialogue. "My suggestion to @ArvindKejriwal ji and @BhagwantMann ji is that our govt has done a lot for the betterment of farmers in the last three years, such as ensuring uninterrupted power supply for agriculture, aiming to deliver canal water to every field, expediting mandi reforms, and promoting crop diversification, among other efforts. On this policy too, govt should move forward only after taking farmers and our farmer unions into confidence through dialogue," he said. Kang, who put out the post in both Punjabi and English, said, "On this too, trust must be earned – not assumed – before any policy takes root." The AAP govt in Punjab, led by Mann, has been facing criticism from opposition parties, farm unions, and farmers ever since it proposed the land pooling policy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Treatment That Might Help You Against Knee Pain Knee pain | search ads Find Now Undo Under the policy, state govt plans to acquire more than 40,000 acres of land across the state for housing and industrial projects, promising residential and commercial plots of varied dimensions, depending on the contribution of land parcels by them, for the contributing landowners in the developed projects. All three main opposition parties in Punjab, the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the BJP, have been opposing the scheme, calling it a "land grabbing" scheme. Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar even termed it a "Ponzi scheme," even as the ruling AAP claimed it to be aimed at planned urbanisation in the state. Facing criticism over the policy, the AAP-led govt, after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, approved a number of amendments to the policy. These amendments included annual compensation to the landowners, extending residential and commercial plot allotments to farmers with smaller landholdings, and issuing letters offering residential and commercial plots in a time-bound manner. The amendments aimed to allay the concerns of the farmers. However, criticism of the policy continued, with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announcing protests against the policy on Wednesday. Opposing the policy, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) also demanded its rollback. |
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Cong's cotton certification allegations misleading: Govt
NEW DELHI: Centre on Sunday refuted Congress's allegations regarding irregularities in organic cotton certification, calling the remarks unfounded and misleading. The commerce ministry said the aspersions cast against National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) were baseless and unwarranted. "Generalised allegations against a robust regulatory system of the country for a particular crop/region/group of operators only serve to undermine the credibility of legitimate regulatory institutions and the broader organic movement in India," the ministry said in a statement. Congress on Saturday demanded a court-monitored CBI probe into an alleged scam in the sale of normal cotton as organic cotton in MP. Former MP CM Digvijaya Singh alleged India's image is being hurt globally as the country has lost credibility in certification of organic products.
