Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJD Monday claimed that the measures of the Odisha government to mitigate the fertiliser crisis in the state were too little and too late, asserting that farmers deserve proactive planning, not last-minute firefighting.
The party’s remarks came after the state government initiated action against some fertiliser dealers and shop owners Sunday on the charge of irregular supply of fertiliser that led to farmers’ agitations in some places.
The state’s BJP government claimed there was no scarcity of fertiliser during the ongoing Kharif season.
Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, had written to Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister J P Nadda seeking his intervention after farmers hit the streets in Malkangiri, Ganjam and Nabarangpur.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed it was evident that the state government was forced to initiate action against black-marketing only after Patnaik’s letter to Nadda.
While the response shows the government has finally woken up to the crisis faced by lakhs of farmers, the measures announced appear too little and too late to address the gravity of the situation on the ground, Mohanty said, adding that farmers deserve proactive planning and timely delivery of inputs, not last-minute firefighting.
The state government, in a statement on Sunday evening, elaborated on its actions and claimed that there was a sufficient quantity of fertiliser in the state.
The government requested farmers not to be scared by any misleading information.
Stating that the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Department has prepared a Kharif crop plan over 58.50 lakh hectares for 2025, it said that accordingly, a supply plan of 10 lakh metric tonnes of fertiliser was prepared and submitted to the Centre.
The Centre has allocated 9.55 lakh metric tonnes of fertiliser of various grades to the state.
Out of this, the state has already received 8.10 lakh metric tonnes, taking the total availability to 11.04 lakh metric tonnes till Saturday. Around 8.46 lakh metric tonnes of various grades of fertilisers have been sold to farmers, while 2.56 lakh metric tonnes are available in various districts, the statement added.
PTI
