A surprise inspection of fertiliser dealers’ shops, godowns and plywood industrial units was carried out by state-level monitoring teams in Nawanshahr under the supervision of Dr Gurjit Singh Brar, Director, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Punjab. The objective of the inspection was to ensure the availability of quality agricultural inputs to farmers in a timely manner.
Under this campaign, the team checked and collected samples from fertiliser vendors as well as plywood industrial units in Balachaur and Jadla in the district.
The inspection team included Dr Amrik Singh, Cane Commissioner; Dr Lekh Raj Mahi, Chief Agriculture Officer; Dr Raj Kumar, Agriculture Officer, Nawanshahr; Dr Nitan, Agriculture Officer, Balachaur; and Agriculture Development Officers Dr Vijay Maheshi, Dr Gurpreet Singh and Dr Jagmandeep Kaur.
Dr Amrik Singh said the use of urea fertiliser had been steadily increasing in Punjab. He noted that subsidised urea was reportedly being diverted for use in the feed and plywood industries, which was illegal. He added that statewide checks were being conducted to prevent such misuse of urea in industrial units.
He directed all fertiliser sellers to update their stock properly on Point of Sale (POS) machines and to sell fertilisers strictly according to crop requirements, warning against any overstocking or irregular sales.
He further stated that strict action would be taken against any fertiliser dealer found supplying urea to feed mills or plywood industries. He also instructed agricultural officers to carry out regular inspections of fertiliser shops, feed units and plywood industries to ensure compliance and curb misuse of subsidised urea.
Dr Lekh Raj Mahi said these directions would be implemented strictly in the district and assured that illegal use and unnecessary sale of fertilisers in industries would be completely curbed, with immediate action taken against violators.
