Nashik district agri office files case against one; suspends licences of 27 non-compliant agricultural service centres

Nashik: The Nashik district agriculture office has lodged a criminal complaint with the Harsul police station, in Trimbakeshwar taluka, against a person for allegedly stocking fertilisers with the intent to sell them to farmers without a valid licence.The action follows a district-wide inspection drive aimed at protecting farmers from fraudulent practices and ensuring the availability of quality agricultural inputs, district agriculture office (DAO) and licensing officer Ravindra Mane said. "During the inspection, we found an illegal stockpile of fertilisers intended for sale without a licence, following which a criminal case was registered," Mane said.During the raid, officials seized 350 bags of fertiliser, valued at around Rs 4.2 lakh. Mane warned that any agriculture service centre found selling inferior products or overcharging farmers would face strict legal action.Agriculture service centres function as one-stop hubs that provide farmers with services such as machinery hiring, supply of seeds and fertilisers, technical guidance and financial services. Their operations are regulated through licensing by the agriculture department to safeguard farmers' interests.As part of the ongoing crackdown, the DAO has also suspended the licences of 27 agriculture service centres across Nashik district for operational irregularities and violation of regulatory norms.Officials said the action targeted administrative and procedural lapses affecting the regulated distribution of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. A key violation involved the failure of dealers to update company-sent inventory on the e-POS system within the stipulated timeframe.Other irregularities included mismatches between physical stock and e-POS records, failure to display updated price and stock boards, poor record-keeping and non-issuance of proper tax invoices to farmers. Taluka-wise, Dindori recorded 10 licence suspensions, followed by Surgana with seven, among others.The agriculture department has urged farmers to purchase inputs only from authorised dealers, insist on official bills, and use their Farmer IDs for fertiliser purchases. To enhance transparency, the department has also provided a WhatsApp helpline and contact details of quality control officers in each taluka for reporting suspected violations.