Adilabad: Local BRS leaders and their associates are allegedly involved in the fake cotton seeds business rampant in Bellampalli, Sirpur (T) and Asifabad assembly constituencies.
“This has become a lucrative business for many leaders even as this is illegal and farmers suffer huge losses every season, as a result,” it is said.
Those doing fake cotton seeds sales are treated as habitual offenders and the local police invoked the PD act against 18 such men in the years 2020 and 2021.
According to sources, 132 cases were registered about fake cotton seeds and 324 persons were booked from 2019- 2022 in Mancherial district.
The Komaram Bheem Asifabad district collector Hemant Bhorkade said they have set up a task force comprising agriculture, revenue and police to control the fake cotton seeds brought into the district from bordering Maharashtra.
He said they would involve the sarpanches, MPTCs and ZPTCs in controlling the fake cotton seed business in the villages and conduct raids on suspected shops and godowns.
Bheemini, Nennela, Kannepalli, Vemanapalli and Tandur have become hot spots for the sale of fake cotton seeds in Bellampalli constituency. The mandals of Bejjur, Penchikalpet, Chinthalamanepalli and Kautala in Sirpur (T) constituency and Rebbena, Wankidi, Jainoor, Kerameri , Tiryani and Narnoor in Asifabad assembly constituency.
Deccan Chronicle has in the past highlighted the illegal business in fake cotton seeds, how it affected the cotton farmers, caused losses due to lack of germination and resulted in low yield in a recently published report.
Collector Hemanth Bhorkade formed the task force to keep a vigil on fake cotton seeds entering the Komaram Bheem Asfibad district through various routes from Maharashtra.
Strong allegations are that BRS local leaders are indulging in the fake cotton seeds business with the support of the constituency-level elected representatives in Bellampalli assembly constituency.
News is making the rounds in the police circles that a senior elected representative of BRS encouraged his associate of Janakapur inNennela mandal to do a fake cotton seed business and offered him ₹10 lakh to start the business in Bellampalli area.
Local police arrested a former director of Bellampalli market committee, Ranjith Kumar, for his involvement in the fake seed business a few months ago.
Allegations are that the market committee chairman of the BRS party in Bellampalli assembly constituency was the key player in the fake cotton seed business in Bheemini mandal.
It is pointed out that an Andhra businessman of Repallewada of Tandur mandal was doing fake cotton seed business on a large scale and continuing the same even after cases were registered against him.
Local police say that some farmers migrated from the Andhra area taking the agricultural lands on lease from the local farmers, cultivating them and selling these fake cotton seeds to the local farmers.
The local farmers are at the receiving end since their lands are losing fertility after a few seasons due to the sowing of fake cotton seeds and use of excessive fertilizers and pesticides by the Andhra farmers who had taken lands on lease.
