Kolkata: The state Agriculture department is taking strong measures to put a leash on the black marketing of fertilizer amidst short supply from the centre.
“We have stopped the sale of fertilizer in the case of 65 shops and have cancelled the licenses of 11. About 1,386 have been served showcause notices and 1,299 have been warned against charging higher than the earmarked price from the farmers,” state Agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said.
The NPK variety of fertilizer has the highest demand in the state, however, the Centre has cut down its supply by leaps and bounds in the last three years.
“In fiscal 2020-21, we placed a demand for 10.05 metric tonne(MT) but received 7.29, in 2021-22, the demand for 9.52 lakh MT was placed and we received 5.50 lakh MT.
In 22-23, we have got only 3.49, against our demand of 9.33 lakh MT. This less supply has triggered black marketing by a section of retailers and we are taking strong action,“ he added.
Chattopadhyay, while tabling the demand for grants for the Agriculture department highlighted the various steps taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for trebling the income of farmers. “In cropping intensity which is 192.4 per cent, Bengal ranks first among all states as per RBI handbook of September 2022,” he added.
Chattopadhyay further pointed out the lesser allocation of the Centre for schemes like ATMA (National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Training, RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana) and micro irrigation that are jointly executed by the centre and the state. For ATMA, the Centre has allocated Rs 69 crore instead of Rs 130 crore; for RKVY it has been Rs 83 crore instead of Rs 170 crore and for micro-irrigation, it has been Rs 30 crore instead of 60 crore.
The minister said that 10 states and 5 Union territories have not adopted the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana which includes Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Nagaland, and Bihar to name a few.
“Odisha, Telangana, Bihar and Rajasthan have visited our state getting a clear idea on the way we successfully run the Bangla Shasya Bima (crop insurance ) scheme,” Chattopadhyay said.