Bhubaneswar : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday has written to Union chemicals and fertilizers minister Mansukh Mandaviya over short supply of fertilizers to the State.
In the letter to Union Minister Mandaviya, Chief Minister thanked the Department for the allocation of fertilizers in the monthly movement supply plans as per the requirement of the State and supply during the month of April and said that during the current May, June & July there has been severe short supply of different fertilizers.
“During the current Kharif till date the State has received only 1,45,145 MT of urea against the allocation of 2,31,530 MT and agreed supply plan of 2,10,000 MT. Similarly during the period the State has received 97,763 MT of DAP against the allocation of 1,52,000 MT and agreed supply plan of 1,45,000 MT,” read the letter.
Odisha CM also stated that the overall the supply of urea has been 62% against the allocation and 69% against the agreed supply plan.
For other fertilizers it is also 60% to 74%. The farmers in the State have suffered severe crop loss due to recent past YAAS and several cyclonic storms during the previous years.
Therefore to optimize their production the supply of the most critical input i.e. fertilizer should be as per requirement.
As mid-July to September is the peak consumption period for urea in the State and July to August is the peak period of demand for all other fertilizers, the short supply of fertilizers to the state at this juncture will adversely affect the agricultural production in the state and unnecessarily invite law and order situation in most of the districts, he added.
Hence, the he has requested the personal intervention of Union Minister Mandaviya in the matter for supply of fertilizers to the state as per the monthly agreed supply plan including the backlog of the previous months for smooth distribution in the greater interest of the farmers.
The BJD delegation met the Minister at his office in New Delhi and handed over a memorandum demanding supply of fertilizers for the farmers of the state. They informed that there is a short supply of fertilizers to Odisha for the Kharif-2021.
The Minister immediately spoke to the Ministry officials and advised them to do the needful at the earliest.