A 15-member Standing Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers led by Chairperson Kanimozhi, DMK MP, left Imphal on Thursday at the conclusion of a two-day official visit to make an on the spot inquiry into the reports of urea shortage in the State. The Chairperson said, “We have talked with the officials on the serious issue. We also met eight farmers to know the problems they faced. Since this is the job of the State government, we requested it to resolve the crisis. We were assured that the matter will be settled shortly.”
The Opposition Congress, which raised the issue in the monsoon session of the Assembly, maintains that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to double the farmers’ income will be rendered meaningless since the farmers are denied urea in time. Party MLA K. Ranjit said, “The farmers are denied fertilizers. They are told to queue up at the distribution centres. They have to join the queue at midnight or so at the centres where hardly 300 bags are distributed.”
The Opposition contends that urea is sold in the blackmarket at exorbitant rates.
The Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on August 24 on the shortage. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Agriculture Minister O. Lukhoi assured the House that it will be made available to the farmers soon.
Mr. Ranjit said, “There are about 79,000 hectares of farm land in the valley of which 28,000 hectares paddy fields are waterlogged. About 7,500 hectares are under organic farming. The farms in the hills do not use fertilizers. As only 8,500 hectares use urea, 2,41,000 bags are needed in the State”.
He said Manipur’s quota had been increased from 15 MT to 20 MT. The State is also getting 8 MT for the rabi crops.
Annual requirement
Mr. Lukhoi said, “The annual requirement is 5,50,000 bags. The Centre has already allotted 4,40,000 bags. The Agriculture Department has received 3,14,000 bags. While the actual price per bag is about ₹650, the government is selling it to the farmers at ₹266.04 per bag. The transportation charge and loading and unloading expenditure per bag is ₹100.80 and the government is paying about ₹9 crore for it.”
The farmers are understood to have told the parliamentary team that the fertilizer has to be used in the fields before August 31. They also wondered at the endless source of urea which is sold in the blackmarket at ₹1,100 per bag.
