‘Fertilizer crisis in Bihar is artificial’: Union minister attacks Nitish Kumar

Union minister of state for fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba said Nitish Kumar’s shift of allies in “in keeping with his nature of cheating others for personal survival and ambition” even at Bihar’s cost

PATNA: On a visit to Bihar, Union minister of state for fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba on Friday accused the Nitish Kumar government of creating an artificial fertilizer crisis in the state despite adequate and regular supply from the Centre.

Union minister of state for fertilizers Bhagwanth Khuba said the Bihar government should not harass farmers for political gains (Twitter/bhagwantkhuba)

At a Press conference at the state BJP office, Khuba also accused Nitish Kumar and his party, the Janata Dal-United, of betraying the mandate for a National Democratic Alliance government in the state. This was “in keeping with his nature of cheating others for personal survival and ambition even at the cost of pushing the state into ‘jungle Raj’ yet again” as was evident in Begusarai, the minister said, referring to the incident where two gunmen killed a man and wounded nine others.

“But (Nitish Kumar) he should not try to mislead the farmers for whom the Narendra Modi government has been consistently working. I urge the farmers not to pay even a penny extra, as the Narendra Modi government is giving heavy subsidies on urea, DAP, NPK etc. for the benefit of farmers, not for the hoarders and black marketers to cash in on the artificial crisis. Distribution requires the cooperation of the state government,” Khuba said.

The minister said the state should not harass farmers for political gains. “The officials are also directed every year to make farmers aware of their right to have subsidised fertilizers being made available for them. “If the fertilizer business is left to the middlemen and mafia, the farmers will suffer.”

The BJP leader cited a recent statement by Bihar cooperative minister Surendra Yadav, who he said, “admitted the truth of black marketing and hoarding”.

Surendra Yadav, who is from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), recently hit headlines in the state when he conceded that farmers were facing trouble buying subsidised fertilisers. “I am also a farmer. I got the urea bag the first time, but the second time my request was turned down,” Yadav said. Just days earlier, agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh said the state’s farm department “was full of thieves”.

The Union minister said that the integrated financial management system (IFMS) data shows real-time data about the supply and availability of fertilizers for every state, including Bihar.

“Despite problems on the international front and rising prices, the Centre has maintained supply at the old cost and the benefits should reach the farmers. The subsidy on fertilizers has almost doubled to ₹2.5 lakh crore this year from ₹1.29 lakh crore. This has been done to save farmers from the extra burden, but black marketing in the state is hurting them. If the problem is in Bihar, it is for the state government to try to set it right and not resort to a blame game,“ he added.

Under the fertilizer DBT system, 100% subsidy on various fertilizer grades is released to the fertilizer companies on the basis of sales by retailers to beneficiaries. Sale of all subsidized fertilizers to farmers/buyers is made through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed at each retailer shop and the beneficiaries are identified through Aadhaar card, Kisan Credit Card, Voter identity card etc.