FIR against Maharashtra firm after seizure of 140 quintals of ‘illegal’ fertiliser in Bathinda

Chandigarh: An FIR has been filed against a Maharashtra firm after 140 quintals of illegal fertiliser was seized in Bathinda, said Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Thursday.The seizure comes at a time when there is a shortage of urea fertiliser and when the sowing of paddy in full swing in the state. Illicit fertiliser is often blamed for damaging the crop and causing losses over several acres of farmland.Khudian said the FIR against Kay Bee Bio-Organics Pvt Ltd has been filed for violation of the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), 1985, and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Ravi Kumar of Uttar Pradesh and Sable Ashant Hanumant of Maharashtra have been named in the FIR.Khudian said the agriculture department had received a tip-off about the illegal fertiliser being kept at a warehouse in Ganpati Complex, Malout Road, Bathinda. A team raided the warehouse and found the stored fertilisers did not conform to specifications prescribed under the Fertiliser Control Order.The company did not possess a valid fertiliser licence from the state agriculture department and was selling agricultural inputs from premises licensed only for pesticide business. This is a violation of clauses 7 and 8 of the Fertiliser Control Order, 1985, and sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, said Khudian."The illegal fertilisers could have devastated thousands of acres and harmed farmers' financial interests," the minister added.