District Agriculture Officers of 3 districts suspended, notices issued to 10 others

The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended three district agriculture officers and served notices to 10 others over irregularities detected in the distribution of fertilizers.

UP Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said here on Wednesday that, along with suspending three District Agriculture Officers on the charge of negligence in discharging their official duties, notices are being issued to ten others.

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He said that notices are being issued to those who have less land in their region but have taken more of the quota of fertilizers.

During a press conference here, the Agriculture Minister said that the District Agriculture Officers who have been suspended include Manjeet Kumar Singh of Balrampur and Prakash Chandra Vishwakarma and Ashok Prasad Mishra, both of Shravasti district.

A report is being sought regarding the black marketing of fertilizers in the border districts of the state, and action will be taken against them after investigation.

Regarding the question raised by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on the shortage of fertilizers, the Agriculture Minister said that Akhilesh has no right to speak.

“During his time, Kharif crops were sown in only 91.45 lakh hectare areas, whereas as a result of continuous increase in timely supply of advanced seeds, fertilizers, water, and irrigation resources to the farmers, the coverage of Kharif crops has increased to 101.58 lakh hectares in the year 2023-24. In 2024, this area has increased to 105.93 lakh hectares,” he claimed.

Shahi said that as soon as the government was formed in the state in 2017, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had waived the loans of 36,000 farmers. The Agriculture Minister said that during June last, 186 such people were found in Maharajganj who had purchased urea from one metric ton to 2.375 metric tonnes. These people have purchased fertilizer four to 13 times more.

He said that such people are being investigated along with the area of the land. If black marketing is found during the investigation, action will be taken against them. Similarly, in Siddharthnagar district, many people have purchased more than one metric tonne of urea four to 20 times. They are also being identified.

The Agriculture Minister said that at present, a total of 15.91 lakh metric tonnes of chemical fertilizers are available for farmers in various districts of the state, including 5.90 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 3.87 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, 3 lakh metric tonnes of NPK, and 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of SP. He said that 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 1.94 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, and 0.8 lakh metric tonnes of NPK are available in the cooperative sector.

Similarly, 3.87 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 1.93 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, and 2.12 lakh metric tonnes of NPK are available in the private sector. The Agriculture Minister said that at present, 12 rakes of DAP out of 24 rakes of urea are in transit, which will reach their destination in the next three to four days. Everyday, 10 to 12 rakes of urea and 5 to 6 rakes of DAP are being made available to the state.

The Agriculture Minister said that the Agriculture Department will run a campaign to increase the productivity of crops. We are going to open a portal on September 15, on which applications will be sought from farmers.