Hyderabad: The state is in urgent need of its full allocation of urea, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said on Saturday, claiming that the delay in allotment of urea was causing hardships to farmers and could affect standing crops if not immediately addressed.The minister told representatives of Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals (RFCL) and Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals (NFCL) in a meeting at the secretariat that the shortfall in supply of urea so far stood at 62,473 metric tonnes. Industries minister D Sridhar Babu was also in attendance.The minister urged officials of fertilizer firms to ensure timely delivery of the full quota, insisting that at least 50% of the pending supply be dispatched within this week from either RFCL or NFCL so that there would be no inconvenience to farmers. RFCL officials assured the minister that the required quantity of urea would be supplied soon, and that all steps were being taken to meet the demand. Currently, the state has 42,000 metric tonnes of urea in stock, with another 6,543 metric tonnes expected to arrive on Saturday, the minister said. An additional 37,877 metric tonnes of urea is likely to reach the state in phases by the end of the month. The ministers appealed to farmers not to panic and assured them that the required urea would be supplied. Meanwhile, G Chinna Reddy, vice-chairman of the State Planning Board, alleged that BJP and BRS were conspiring against the state govt, claiming that restricting urea supply in the ongoing kharif season was a ploy to disrupt the state’s agricultural sector. Chinna Reddy said that from April to August, the state received only 5.36 lakh metric tonnes of urea against the required 8.30 lakh metric tonnes. He accused the central govt of deliberately stopping urea supplies to the state and urged union minister G Kishan Reddy and BJP state chief N Ramachander Rao to take up the issue with Centre.
