PEDDAPALLI: Urea production at the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) has been halted for the past two days due to a technical issue, exacerbating the shortage prevailing now. The RFCL will not be resuming operations till August 22.
Frequent gas pipeline leaks have been causing recurring technical disruptions, forcing the plant to shut down. Restarting production requires a three-day cooling period, followed by another three days to bring the plant back into operation.
In the current Kharif season, RFCL was supposed to supply 60,000 metric tonnes (MT) of urea to Telangana. However, a similar technical snag in July had already hampered output, with only 20,000 MT produced since then.
The latest problem took place on August 14. The plant’s full capacity is 2,200 MT per day (MTPD) of ammonia and 3,850 MTPD of neem-coated urea.
The repeated breakdowns have severely impacted urea availability for Telangana’s farmers during the critical Kharif season.
Reported delays in decision-making from RFCL’s corporate office in Delhi have further intensified the problem.
Ramagundam MLA Makkan Singh Thakur has been vocal about the issue, demanding a quota of 30 per cent production for Telangana, relocation of the corporate office to Ramagundam for faster decision-making and priority for local trucks in urea transportation.
Thakur warned of a protest in Delhi if these demands are ignored. He also recalled that during the plant’s construction, 50 per cent production allocation for Telangana was promised, but the commitment remains unfulfilled.
Despite an increase in cultivation area compared to last year, RFCL has cut Telangana’s urea quota by one lakh MT, Thakur alleged.
Against the August allocation of 65,000 MT, only 20,000 MT have been supplied so far — and now, the plant has shut down again.
Farmers, already struggling with urea shortages, are left in the lurch as technical failures and bureaucratic delays continue to disrupt supply.
Thummala urges MPs to raise issue in Parl
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao alleged that the Union government has failed to supply urea as per its allocation, leading to acute fertiliser shortage in the state.
During a review meeting he had with the officials on Sunday, the minister also accused the BJP leaders of misleading the farmers.
He urged the Congress MPs from the state to raise the issue in the ongoing Parliament session and also bring it to the notice of Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda.
Nageswara Rao alleged that out of the 9.8 lakh metric tonnes of urea allocated to the state by the Central government, only 5.32 lakh metric tonnes have been supplied so far.
Production stopped for 78 days out of 145 working days
Further, he explained that while the state was supposed to be supplied with indigenous urea mainly from Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL), production was not carried out for 78 days out of 145 working days from April to August, resulting in a major deficit in the urea supply to the state.
The minister said that due to early start of the season and cultivation of crops like maize, urea sales have also increased this year compared to last year, especially in districts like Nalgonda, Gadwal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Peddapalli.
The minister instructed officials to form a task force to ensure that urea is not diverted for purposes other than agriculture and to take strict action against anyone who indulges in such practices.
He asked the chief secretary to hold a review on Monday with the district collectors, agriculture department officials in this regard. He also advised farmers to purchase urea according to their needs and to refrain from buying urea beyond requirement.
When the officials informed the Agriculture minister that the four ships allocated for the supply of imported urea to the state for the month of August are likely to arrive by the end of this month, the minister instructed them to write letters to the Union government officials to allocate an additional 20,000 metric tonnes of urea from each ship.
‘Need 30% production quota for Telangana’
Ramagundam MLA Makkan Singh Thakur has been vocal about the issue, demanding a quota of 30 per cent production for Telangana, relocation of the corporate office to Ramagundam for faster decision-making and priority for local trucks in urea transportation. Thakur warned of a protest in Delhi if these demands were ignored. He also recalled that during the plant’s construction, 50 per cent production allocation for Telangana was promised, but the commitment remains unfulfilled.