Punjab: Teams formed to check illegal tagging with fertilisers

Chandigarh: To check the practise of boosting sale of other products by illegally tagging them with fertilisers, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has formed four teams, each overseen by officers at the joint director level. These teams have been tasked with combating the issue.

Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian directed the formation of these teams following a meeting with the Majha Kisan Sangharsh committee here at his office on Thursday. The minister assured the committee delegation, led by president Balwinder Singh, that Punjab has an adequate supply of DAP/NPK/SSP for the upcoming Rabi season as the state is receiving sufficient quantities of DAP and other phosphatic fertilisers.

On the matter of forcefully tagging other agricultural products with fertilisers, raised by the farmers’ delegation, Khudian stated that the Punjab government will not tolerate any exploitation of farmers. He emphasised that unscrupulous individuals attempting to coerce farmers into buying additional products will face legal action.

Meanwhile, special chief secretary agriculture KAP Sinha mentioned that Punjab anticipates sowing wheat over an area of about 35 lakh hectares, necessitating around 5.50 lakh metric tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser. He said he met the Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers and Union fertiliser secretary last month to secure a sufficient supply of fertilisers fo.

Khudian resonded to the demand for an increase in sugarcane prices by stating that the state has scheduled a meeting of the State Sugarcane Control Board on September 27.