Centre Provided More Fertiliser to Telangana than Required, Says Kishan Reddy
Minister says Telangana still has 1.68 lakh MT fertilisers
Hyderabad: The Centre said it had supplied more fertiliser to Telangana than the quantity sought by the state. It also stated that sufficient stock was still available with Telangana even at the end of the rabi season, when farmers no longer required it.
Making a statement on the fertiliser supply across the country, including in Telangana, in the Lok Sabha, Union minister for coal and mines G. Kishan Reddy said that it is the responsibility of the respective state government to distribute fertilisers at the district and mandal levels based on the needs of farmers.
Against 9.51 lakh metric tonne urea required for Telangana in the rabi season, the Centre supplied 12.02 lakh metric tonnes. Even after the end of the Yasangi season, after fulfilling the requirements, the state still has 1.68 lakh metric tonnes of urea.
Similarly, the Centre provided 1.72 lakh metric tonnes of DAP against the required 1.47 lakh metric tonnes. At the end of the yasangi season's farming activities, Telangana still held 0.26 lakh metric tonnes of DAP. About 0.95 lakh metric tonnes of MoP (Muriate of Potash), also known as potassium chloride — essential for plant growth and quality — was supplied to the state against the rabi requirement of 0.68 lakh metric tonnes. Additionally, another 0.31 lakh metric tonnes of MoP stock remained available with the state.
Furthermore, 8.57 lakh metric tonnes of NPKS fertiliser, which refers to the four key macronutrients — nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sulphur (S) — was supplied against the Rabi requirement of 6.73 lakh metric tonnes. An additional 2.19 lakh metric tonnes of NPKS fertiliser remained available in Telangana, Kishan Reddy informed the House.
Kishan Reddy said the Centre seeks fertiliser requirement data from the states, and based on the data provided by the states, the Central Fertiliser Department supplies sufficient fertilisers to the states on a month-wise basis and monitors their availability continuously.
The entire supply of major fertilisers, provided with subsidies, is tightly controlled through an online-based monitoring system called the Integrated Fertiliser Monitoring System (IFMS) to prevent malpractices, he said.
Kishan Reddy claimed that the Narendra Modi government had spent over Rs 12 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidies since coming to power in 2014. The Centre ensures that fertilisers are available to states at very low prices, irrespective of international market rates and fluctuations. In the past, farmers had to wait in long queues to obtain fertilisers. However, due to several measures taken by the Narendra Modi government, farmers no longer face such difficulties and can access the required fertilisers at subsidised rates, he said.
