Ahead of the kharif sowing season, the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, along with the CM Flying Squad, has intensified its crackdown on black marketing, hoarding of fertilisers and forced tagging of non-subsidised agricultural products with subsidised fertilisers in Karnal district.
In a joint raid conducted at a warehouse on Hansi Road in Karnal city, officials allegedly found large quantities of fertilisers and agricultural products being illegally stored and sold without a valid licence. The warehouse was reportedly linked to an IFFCO e-Bazar outlet.
Officials said the firm failed to produce mandatory documents, including stock registers and bill books, during the inspection.
Confirming the action, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) Dr Wazir Singh said the inspection team comprised officials from the CM Flying Squad along with Anil Kumar, Assistant Plant Protection Officer; Sunil Kumar, Quality Control Inspector; and Amarjeet Singh, Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Protection).
“After the findings, we got registered an FIR at Sadar Bazar police station under Sections 3, 7 and 10 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 against M/s Mohan Enterprises and Amit Kumar Pandey, a resident of Kharagpur, Gonda in Uttar Pradesh,” said Dr Singh.
He said the district administration was maintaining strict vigilance to prevent hoarding, black marketing and tagging of non-subsidised products with subsidised fertilisers.
“Till now, surprise inspections have been conducted at 55 fertiliser shops across the district. Licences of three fertiliser dealers have been cancelled, while licences of 10 others have been suspended after irregularities were detected,” he said.
Dr Singh warned that strict action would be taken against dealers involved in hoarding or forcing farmers to buy non-subsidised products along with fertilisers.
Highlighting the importance of timely fertiliser supply, he said nearly 5.30 lakh acres are cultivated during the kharif season in Karnal district, including around 4.70 lakh acres under paddy, 42,000 acres under sugarcane and nearly 38,000 acres under other crops.
According to the Agriculture Department, the district requires around 1.05 lakh metric tonnes of urea and 20,000 metric tonnes of DAP during the season. As of May 26, around 22,000 metric tonnes of urea and 3,000 metric tonnes of DAP were available in stock.
“As per government instructions, farmers can obtain fertilisers through POS machines only after registration on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal. Adequate stock is available in the district,” Dr Singh said.
He also advised farmers to purchase fertilisers, seeds and pesticides only against proper bills and contact Block Agriculture Officers in case of any difficulty.
