BHUBANESWAR: With the West Asia conflict disrupting fertiliser production in the country ahead of the crucial agricultural season, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday took stock of the situation and directed officials to ensure that no farmer, whether small or marginal, is affected by the crop nutrient shortage.
Chairing a high-level meeting, which was joined by collectors of all districts through video-conferencing, Majhi stressed that fertilisers should be made available to farmers as per their requirement and at fair prices for the soon-to-start kharif crop operations.
Addressing the collectors, he said Odisha now has 1.77 lakh tonne of urea and over 60,000 tonne of DAP in stock. He ordered them to not sit back with the statistics, but ensure last mile delivery. The chief minister issued six directives to deal with the situation. He asked the collectors to take strict action against black marketeers and hoarders. Stating that the collectors should conduct regular inspections of godowns of wholesalers and retailers, Majhi said FIRs should be filed against illegal hoarders and their licences should be cancelled.
Besides, the chief minister directed police and Agriculture department to jointly monitor check-posts in border areas to stop smuggling of fertiliser to neighbouring states. “Every suspicious vehicle should be checked as per the Fertiliser Movement Control Order. There is risk of subsidised urea meant for agriculture being diverted to industries like resin, plywood or cattle feed. District-level task forces must inspect and prevent such diversion,” he ordered.
The CM said ‘Nigrani Samitis’ are being formed in every panchayat to regulate fertiliser availability and regulation. Out of 6,794 gram panchayats, committees have been formed in 6,229. He asked the collectors to complete formation of the committees in the rest 565 gram panchayats within the next two to three days. He emphasised on digital registration of farmers to ensure direct benefit of all schemes.
Of 44 lakh farmers, 15 lakh have received digital farmer IDs so far, he said, and asked the collectors to complete the process in mission mode to bring full transparency to fertiliser distribution. Stating that awareness drives should be conducted to discourage excessive chemical use like urea, he said that balanced use and alternatives like organic fertiliser and nano urea should be promoted.
The CM also directed the collectors to ensure that all fertiliser sale points must display stock quantity and price. The display must be in large Odia letters so that farmers can easily understand. The same data should be shown on electronic display boards at every sub-division.
Deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said the Centre is issuing regular advisories on fertiliser availability and asked officers to follow them strictly. Cooperation minister Pradeep Bal Samant also advised officers to streamline the distribution system.