Resentment over non-release of inquiry report on al-leged scam regarding supply of subsidized urea

LAKHIMPUR: The Lakhimpur district unit of the Hindu Youth Council has expressed vehement resent-ment over the non-release of the inquiry report for a year regarding the alleged scam on the supply of subsidised urea fertilizer to the farmers of the district. In this connection, the organization has remarked that the non-release of the inquiry report concerned has turned the inquiry process into a mere farce by safeguarding the ‘fertilizer dealers under the scanner’.

The small-scale tea planters and the farmers of mustard, nursery, paddy, and Ravi crops in Lakhimpur allegedly did not get a single kilogram of subsidized urea fertilizer at the printed price of Rs. 5.91 from the fertilizer dealers in the 2021–22 session. In that session, urea amounting to 2024 metric tonnes was supplied to the district. The alleged scam was brought to light by the Lakhimpur district unit of the Hindu Youth Council through the Right to Infor-mation Act, 2005, following complaints made by small tea growers and farmers in the district.

Regarding the issue, the organization submitted an application under the RTI Act, 2005, at the Lakhimpur Dis-trict Agriculture Office on May 5, 2022, seeking information about the distribution of the said amount of urea ferti-lizer allotted to the district in the 2021–22 session. Then the District Agriculture Officer (DAO), through a letter vide No. DAO/LAK/RTI/57/2022-23, Dtd. 07/06/22, instructed five licenced fertiliser dealers of the district to directly provide the information sought to the applicants. The DAO issued a copy of the same letter to the applicants too. But three out of the five fertilizer dealers did not provide the information sought by the applicants and allegedly misled the District Agriculture Office by sending a five-page letter to the Public Information Officer (Agri), Lakhim-pur, by post. Through the same letter, the fertilizer dealers requested the officer concerned reject such kinds of un-authorized, illegal RTI applications, which compelled the organization guess about the scam.

On the other hand, a few days later, at the same time, the Lakhimpur district committee of the All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur district re-garding the same issue. In the memorandum, the president and secretary of the organisation said that the farmers of Lakhimpur had not gotten a single kilogram of fertilizer, supplied by the government, at subsidized rate from the fertilizer dealers with government licence. Their memorandum reads, “The dealers issue the threat of selling no ferti-lizer to the farmers when a receipt is sought at the time of purchasing the same. They say that this fertilizer is not supplied by the government. They suggest us to take as much fertilizer as we need but not to seek receipt. In this situation, the small tea growers have been purchasing the fertilizer at a high price, from Rs. 15.00 to Rs. 24.00 per kilogram. In this way, we have been compelled to purchase the subsidised fertilizer at a high price, which has caused us mental harassment”. At the same time, the organisation also demanded that the Chief Minister and the Agricul-ture Minister resolve these issues at the earliest.

Later on August 12, 2022, the Lakhimpur district unit Hindu Youth Council president Dipanjal Sonowal and secretary Sambhu Singha submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, demanding a probe into the alleged scam on the supply and distribution of subsidized urea to the farmers of the district. Following the memorandum, the Agriculture Department designated Dr. Nandi Roy, the Joint Director of Agriculture Depart-ment, Dhemaji district, to conduct an inquiry into the alleged fertilizer scam through a letter vide No. Agri/Fert/C&F/EQR/528/Pt-ll/2021-22/31 on September 17, 2022. During the inquiry, the Lakhimpur district Hindu Youth Council and mustard farmers of the district cooperated with the inquiry officers by submitting written com-plaints.

But the inquiry report was not made public during the last year, and no action was taken against the fertilizer dealers. At this point, the Lakhimpur district unit of the Hindu Youth Council once again sought the inquiry report by submitting an application under the RTI Act, 2005, to the Director of Agriculture on June 28 of the current year. As a response to the application, the Directorate of Agriculture, through SPIO’s letter No.AGRI/RTI/8483/S.SINGHA/2022-23/03, instructed the DAO, Lakhimpur, to provide the information concerned to the RTI applicant. A copy of the same letter was also issued to the applicant. As a reply to this letter, the Lakhimpur District Agriculture Office, through a letter vide No. DAO/LAK/RTI/2023/1865–68, informed the State Public Information Officer, Directorate of Agriculture, that the inquiry report of the alleged scam was yet to be completed and would be completed soon.

“This letter issued from the Lakhimpur District Agriculture Office shows that the inquiry process has turned into a mere farce and the fertilizer dealers under the scanner have been safeguarded”, Sambhu Singha said while react-ing to the issue. “The Hindu Youth Council will initiate a stir against the Agriculture Department if no action is taken against those who are involved in the fertilizer scam”, Sambhu Singha added.

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