HYDERABAD: Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao on Monday directed the district collectors to give priority to small and marginal farmers while supplying urea.
The minister, along with Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, held a video conference with the district collectors on availability of urea in the state. He called for formation of task force teams to curb the practice of diverting urea for purposes other than agriculture.
Instructing the officials to monitor the stocks at wholesale and retail dealers as well as godowns of cooperative societies, Nageswara Rao directed the collectors to take stringent action against those who were hoarding and selling urea at higher prices.
During the conference, the minister also said that the state was facing shortage of urea as the Union government failed to supply the fertiliser as per its allocation.
Meanwhile, the Congress MPs from Telangana raised the urea shortage issue in Parliament. They submitted a notice for an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha seeking a discussion on this issue. They also staged a protest, displaying placards on the premises of Parliament.
Later speaking to reporters, Congress MP Mallu Ravi alleged that the Centre was deliberately not supplying the urea to Telangana.
“We have sought an appointment of Union Fertilisers and Chemicals Minister JP Nadda. If he doesn’t give us an appointment, we will stage a protest in front of his office,” he said.