Release urea stock within 48 hours or face legal action: Agriculture Department

 Agriculture Department warns urea wholesalers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Urea wholesalers in the State have a huge stock of urea - around 9,000 MT- with them. Yet, there is a scarcity of urea in the market which has affected farmers. The State Government has expressed concern over the scarcity of urea. It has now warned urea wholesalers that if they do not release the urea stock available with them within 48 hours, they would have to face legal action.

Urea scarcity, hoarding and black marketing have been raging topics of discussion for the last few weeks. Farmers have demanded the government to make urea available in the market but the stand-off between the Agriculture Department and urea dealers does not seem to end. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora on Wednesday held a virtual meeting with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and District Agriculture Officers (DAOs) of the districts. In the meeting, the urea supply system was reviewed.

The Chief Minister instructed the DCs and DAOs to do away with artificial scarcity of urea, black marketing and middlemen, and to provide necessary assistance to urea retailers so that urea can be made available to farmers. Sources said that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was being prepared to streamline urea sales in the State. The SOP is likely to be approved in the next meeting of the State Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Department on Wednesday directed more than 100 urea wholesalers to release the stock of 9,050 MT urea available with them in the market within 48 hours, or else action would be taken against them under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Sources said that there was an artificial scarcity of urea in the market because the wholesalers were not releasing their urea stock. On the other hand, urea dealers have claimed that due to high transportation cost, they are unable to sell fertilizers to farmers at MRP (Maximum Retail Price) as it would not leave them with any profit.

State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora had recently taken up this issue with Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar. Sources said that a final decision on the stand-off between the Agriculture Department and urea wholesalers could be taken in the next cabinet meeting.

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