DAP shortage- minister instructed CAOs to file application in court to release fertilizer
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
“I have instructed the chief agriculture officers (CAO) to file immediately a request application in their respective district courts to release the impounded DAP at the earliest as there is a shortage of it in the state, country” said Randeep Singh state agriculture minister. He was responding to a query, what the government is doing in releasing the large quantity of DAP impounded by police and agriculture department from hoarders in this crucial period?
Randeep Singh said,” the government has taken iron handedly about DAP overpricing, hoarding, and tagging and Punjab Agriculture Department has started crackdown campaign vigorously and FIRs lodged against more than dozen firms allegedly involved in overpricing, diversion of subsidized urea for industrial purpose, tagging other products, and sale of fertilizers from unauthorized sale point.”
“Due to severe shortage, we are also concerned about the impounded DAP fertilizers and that’s why I instructed the field officers to file a request application with the local courts to release the impounded case property (DAP fertilizer) at the earliest. After that we will give that quantity/ DAP bags to the societies to be further distributed amongst farmers” added state agriculture minister Randeep Singh.
He further added that FIRs have been lodged against dealers for overpricing, selling misbranded DAP , for allegedly being involved in the diversion of subsidized Urea for industrial purposes and process of their license cancellation is underway. He said that administrative action was also initiated against the Agriculture Officer of Patiala for action not being taken against hoarding/black marketing of DAP.
Sharing further information Randeep Singh said that “he spoke to secretary GOI regarding the supply of DAP to Punjab and the good news is that Union Government on Monday assured seven rakes per day of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) for seven days and with this consignment, we were able to cope with the situation within a week. He informed that our total pendency stands 42 rakes as of now of all districts. If seven rakes will come up every day, then we will cover up the entire shortfall within a week.”
November 17,2021
