Ambala: Even as farmers raised complaints of shortages and delays on the ground, the Union govt has informed Parliament that the availability of urea and other fertilisers in Haryana remained adequate over the last five years.In a written reply to an unstarred question by Ambala Lok Sabha member Varun Chaudhary, minister of state Anupriya Patel, on behalf of the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers, stated that from 2020-21 to 2024-25, Haryana had sufficient availability of urea, with supplies made in line with the assessed requirements for each cropping season.
She stated that every season, the department of agriculture and farmers welfare, in consultation with the state govts, assesses state-wise and month-wise fertiliser requirements, on the basis of which the department of fertilisers allocates quantities through monthly supply plans.The minister further informed that the movement of subsidised fertilisers, including urea, was monitored through the Integrated Fertiliser Management System (iFMS) – a web-based online platform.State govts were regularly advised to coordinate with manufacturers and importers for timely placement of indents, while the distribution of fertilisers at the district level was handled by the respective state govts, she added.According to the reply, detailed data on requirement, availability, sales and closing stock of urea in Haryana during the last five years was provided to the MP, indicating adequate supply.Chaudhary, however, said while official data showed fertiliser availability exceeding requirement, the ground reality in Haryana told a different story. He pointed out that farmers were still forced to stand in long queues for fertilisers every season and, in many cases, urea was rationed and not provided in the required quantity at one time.He said a comparison of the govt’s reply with the situation on the ground suggested a lack of coordination by the Haryana govt with the agencies concerned to streamline fertiliser supplies. “Every season, farmers in Haryana face hardships in getting fertilisers on time and in adequate quantities,” he said, adding that this directly affected crop yield and farmers’ livelihoods.Chaudhary also criticised the reply for allegedly skipping the core issue raised in the question regarding the admission of shortage and delay in timely supply of fertilisers to farmers, which, he said, was a recurring concern every season.The MP urged the state govt to reassess monthly requirements realistically and ensure smooth, timely and sufficient availability of fertilisers in the interest of farmers and agricultural productivity.MSID:: 128067286 413 |
