Chandigarh, June 16:- Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Mr. Shyam Singh Rana has given strict instructions to all agricultural development officers to ensure proper distribution of chemical fertilizers for Kharif crops in their respective areas so that the farmers of the state do not have to face any shortage of fertilizers.
He said that 60 percent of the fertilizers will be sent to PAX through HAFED, strict action will be taken against the officials who are found negligent in this. He also warned that the administration will take strictest legal action against those who hoard and black-market fertilizers.
Mr. Rana was interacting with the agricultural officers of all the districts of the state through video conferencing today in Chandigarh on important issues related to fertilizer distribution for Kharif crops, 'Khet Bachao' campaign and natural farming.
Several other senior officials including Additional Chief Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department Shri Vijender Kumar and Director General Shri Rajnarayan Kaushik were also present in this high-level meeting.
During the meeting, the Agriculture Minister conducted an in-depth review of the availability of Urea, DAP and other chemical fertilizers district-wise.
He instructed the officials to keep a close watch on the private dealers active in their respective areas and ensure that there is no misuse of fertilizers anywhere. Along with this, he also sought a response from the concerned officials when it was found that the consumption of fertilizers was more than the prescribed amount in some districts. Keeping in mind the convenience of the farmers, he directed that timely supply of fertilizers should be made to the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) located in the villages, so that the farmers could easily get fertilizers near their homes.
With the aim of completely curbing black marketing, Mr. Rana said that fertilizer should be distributed only on the basis of official land data registered on the 'Meri Fasal Mera Biora' portal, so that no non-farmer can take undue advantage of this system. He also clarified that no private dealer should try to forcefully tag other unnecessary items with fertilizer to the farmers. To stop such arbitrariness, he ordered the Agriculture Development Officers to conduct surprise checking and inspection from time to time.
Apart from this, Mr. Shyam Singh Rana also reviewed the progress of the 'Khet Bachao' and 'Kudrati Kheti' campaigns being run in line with the vision of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mr. Naib Singh Saini.
He asked the officers to go to the ground and make the farmers aware about the benefits of fertilizer and bio-elixir prepared from indigenous cow dung. While discussing the farmer camps being organized under this campaign, he set a deadline for the officials to meet the set targets by June 30th.
Mr. Shyam Singh Rana advised the officials to continuously motivate the farmers towards natural farming, which can reduce the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers; because this will not only ensure the quality of food items but also protect the general public from serious diseases.