Govt took stern action against fake seeds, fertilisers: Kirori

Jaipur: Agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena Friday said that the govt has acted against sale and manufacture of counterfeit fertilisers and seeds. Replying to a question by Congress MLA Ghanshyam Mahar in Question Hour, Meena said 107 FIRs were registered by the present govt, while only 20 FIRs were registered by the previous govt.
During inspection, out of 11,938 licences, 765 were issued show-cause notices. 169 licences were suspended and 46 licences were cancelled. Out of 46 cases, arrests were made in 28, challans were presented in court in 16 cases, and the accused took anticipatory bail in 21 cases, he said. Comparing five years of the Congress govt and two years of the current govt, Meena said that the previous govt did not register even a single FIR in seed cases, while the current govt registered five. "Seed licence cancellations were zero earlier; now eight were done. In fertilisers, there were eight actions earlier; now action was taken in 31 cases. Similarly, in pesticides, there was no action earlier; seven were taken currently. Also, more sample testing was done in the current govt," said Meena. Meena said the govt provided farmers with more fertilisers than demanded. "Despite higher demand due to good rainfall, no shortage of fertiliser was allowed. Also, the state govt acted against many black marketeers and sellers of fake fertilisers and seeds," said Meena. He said that the central govt will bring a strict law for quality and uninterrupted supply of seeds and fertilisers, which will include provisions for 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20 lakh. "This time, due to a prolonged monsoon, moisture remained in the soil and the sowing area increased. Also, the gap between crops was reduced due to the sowing of an additional crop. This led to an increase in fertiliser requirement. Due to higher demand, there were situations of farmers queuing up in some places, but there was no shortage of fertiliser," he added.