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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Min Kirori wins public support with raids, party grows uneasy
1 2 Jaipur: Agriculture and panchayati raj minister Kirori Lal Meena's raids on fertiliser and seed godowns have led to tensions within the governing BJP. Meena, who conducted surprise inspections in Kishangarh on May 29-30 and Gangapur City on June 3, arrived at the locations in auto-rickshaws, catching officials off guard. While these actions earned him widespread public support, particularly among farmers and unemployed youth, they also created unease within his own party. "This kind of action sets a wrong precedent," said a BJP senior who requested anonymity. "It undermines institutional functioning and disrupts coordinated governance," he said. The timing of Meena's first raid, just two days before BJP national president JP Nadda's visit to Rajasthan, raised eyebrows. The cabinet minister's actions, including bypassing the department of information and public relations for media statements, were viewed as a breach of protocol by the state govt. This is not Meena's first brush with controversy. Earlier this year, he received a show cause notice for alleging his own govt was tapping his phone. His partial control of agriculture and rural development departments, allocated to him in Dec 2023, was seen as the source of his dissatisfaction. In July 2024, he even submitted his resignation, which wasn't accepted. He later skipped the 2025 state budget session. The cabinet minister has been vocal about corruption, writing five letters in 2024—two to PM Narendra Modi and three to CM Bhajan Lal Sharma. He continues to support demands for a re-exam of SI-2021, despite the state govt's reluctance.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Time of India
Farmers urge min to act against sale of fake seeds
1 2 Jaipur: Farmers Saturday urged agriculture department and its minister Kirori Lal Meena to address large-scale sale of fake and substandard seeds in the market. The move comes after Meena made surprise inspections at several factories producing spurious fertilisers in the last two days. Farmers said that there is no mechanism to act against traders selling poor quality seeds. The agriculture minister said, "Yes, this too is on my mind. This has been a big problem along with the supply and sale of spurious fertilisers. Let me assure the farmers that I will very soon start a campaign against the fake seeds. I believe supplying fake seeds to the farmers is like killing them since a farmer only knows that seeds are fake after working hard on his farm for almost a month. He feels cheated. I know the pain," the minister added. Farmers from Banswara, Dungarpur, Sirohi, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts complained that in almost every season of Rabi and Kharif, they are deceived by poor quality seeds. "I bought 10 packets of cucumber seed, each packet costing Rs 6,000. Usually, cucumber comes out in a period of 30 days. But I was deceived as the plant grew, and no cucumber came. I went to the trader who sold it to me, and he paid no heed to my problem. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Откриване на нов магазин, супер 2-в-1 таблет: 50% отстъпка HL Купете сега Undo This is a big problem, and I would like the department of agriculture to take up this issue," said Suresh Chaudhary of Sargoth village near Sikar. Similarly, farmers complained that there are fake seeds of wheat, barley, millets, vegetables and almost every crop. "We plough the farm, put seeds, and work hard on them in the hope of harvesting the crop. However, many times we get cheated. This has been a big problem and neither the police nor any other authority takes action against the makers and sellers of these fake seeds," said Harnesk Singh of Bhagsar village of Sriganganagar. "I visited the local office of agriculture to complain after I got the fake seeds of mustard, but I got no response. By the time we realise that seeds are fake, the season of a particular crop we sowed got over," said Khushi Ram Chaudhary, a farmer from Sultana village in Jhunjhunu.
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Min's inspection exposes fake fertiliser trade and legal gaps
1 2 Jaipur: Agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena conducted inspections targeting fake fertiliser units Ajmer and Jaipur for the second consecutive day Friday. During inspections at various locations, several factories were found shut with spilt fertiliser visible outside their premises. The minister acknowledged the absence of stringent legislation to combat this illegal practice. Nevertheless, he emphasised that regular raids and heightened vigilance could serve as effective deterrents against such activities in the fertiliser trade. Meena, along with his team, searched various factories at Kishangarh, Ajmer, and its surrounding areas, as well as in some of the outskirts of Jaipur. According to Meena, 34 factories were identified, and he asked the authorities to seal these factories. Also, 12 FIRs were lodged against the malpractice in this trade of fake fertiliser. "This is a big scam as from Ajmer I found that these fertilisers are also being sent to other states across the country. I instructed the police and agriculture department officials to ensure action under the Fertiliser Act and also to investigate who the real owners of these factories are," Meena said while talking to TOI. Meena admitted that usually, in these cases, there is a scope of Istegasa (legal complaint) and a lack of stringent laws against it. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "Despite this, I will continue monitoring and fix accountability of my officers. Also, similar raids will continue from my side. I believe regular raids and heightened vigilance could serve as effective deterrents against such fraudulent activities in the fertiliser trade," he added. "Inka Nuksaan hoga Darr Baithega to band karna padega (If they [factory owners] get losses and are intimidated, they will have to stop manufacturing these fertilisers)," he added. On the allegations of PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasara, Meena said that Union Minister Bhagirath Chaudhary has nothing to do with this action. "He is totally unaware of such factories. He is a farmer and was totally unaware," Meena added.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Time of India
Rural devpt dept forms panels to probe NREGA irregularities
Jaipur: The rural development department formed committees at the district level to probe 130 gram panchayats across 12 districts where significant irregularities were found in NREGA works through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The department reported that monitoring took place at state, district and block levels through an app which successfully prevented five to seven lakh fake workers from being registered daily. Rural development minister Kirori Lal Meena during a review meeting of the department said the attendance of workers engaged in community-based works under the MGNREGA scheme is being monitored through the NMMS. The quality of recorded worker attendance has improved through NMMS, and only workers present at the worksite are being paid. This innovation of NMMS at the state, district, and block levels has been appreciated by the Centre," said Meena during the meeting. The meeting discussed the geo-tagging of individual and block plantations in three stages through the 'Hariyalo Rajasthan' app. Geo-tagging of 1.03 crore individual plantations and 2.07 crore block-level plantations was completed through the app. Under the Chief Minister's Tree Plantation Month campaign, a target of planting 2 crore trees was set for the rural development, panchayati raj department, and water harvesting development collectively this year, following the theme of "One Tree in the Name of Mother." Meena instructed district officials to ensure the complete care of all planted trees, arrange water during summers, and link all plants with geo-tags. Officials from all districts were directed to prepare and present a report on the plants destroyed from last year's plantation within seven days. The minister informed that over 2 crore plants are being prepared to develop panchayat nurseries in all 11,214 village panchayats of the state.
