Agri dept cancels 54 fertiliser licences, suspends 786 in crackdown on urea diversion

Pune: The state agriculture department cancelled 54 and suspended 786 licences of fertiliser dealers and retailers over the past five weeks for alleged diversion, hoarding and possible industrial misuse of subsidised urea ahead of the kharif sowing season.Sunil Borkar, director of agriculture (quality control and inputs), told TOI, "During investigation, our officials physically verified high-volume urea transactions and found that many farmers had not purchased fertiliser in such quantities. In several cases, retailers stocked the material themselves and showed fake sales in farmers' names. Based on the seriousness of violations, licences were suspended or cancelled."He said the duration of licence suspension ranges from a fortnight to three months, depending on the nature of violations. Serious cases involving suspected diversion or fraudulent entries led to permanent cancellation of licence, Borkar said.The subsidised rate of urea, meant for farmers, is Rs5-6 per kg. Its price in the open market is over Rs50 per kg. Urea is widely used in resin and adhesive manufacturing, textile and pharmaceutical industries.An extensive verification drive of subsidised urea sales was launched in the state after alerts were generated through the Centre's Integrated Fertiliser Management System (iFMS) — a digital platform tracking fertiliser movement and retail transactions across the country. Agriculture officials said over 16,000 suspected cases of unusually high urea purchase in the names of farmers were under scrutiny. Authorities particularly flagged transactions involving 20 or more bags of urea against the identity of individual farmers."In many places, purchases far beyond normal agricultural requirements have been recorded in farmers' names. We are conducting detailed field verification in such cases," another official from the department's quality control wing said.The department has so far largely avoided direct punitive action against farmers. "If we start taking strict action against farmers immediately, many may hesitate to participate in the official fertiliser distribution system. Therefore, our present focus is on errant retailers and distributors," Borkar said, adding that police action could follow if evidence of organised collusion emerged.Farmers' organisations said the situation reflected structural problems in fertiliser distribution and uncertainty over its timely supply. "Farmers in Marathwada have faced recurring fertiliser shortages for years. The fear among farmers is genuine because whenever monsoon begins, there is a sudden scramble for it and the availability becomes uncertain," said Pramod Kapse, a farmer activist from Solapur.Higher urea demand is common immediately before and during the kharif season. Officials said this year's pattern appeared abnormal because large purchases were recorded before sowing activity gained momentum in several regions.In drought-prone Marathwada, several farmers said they had begun purchasing urea in small quantities fearing future scarcity. "People are worried because last year many farmers had to stand in queues for fertilisers during the sowing season," said Balasaheb Shinde, a soybean farmer from Beed district.Activists from western Maharashtra and Vidarbha demanded tighter monitoring of fertiliser movement from wholesalers to retail outlets. "The government should not only punish small retailers after irregularities are detected. There should be real-time monitoring of stocks at every level because diversion often happens through organised networks," said agriculture activist Sachin Holkar from Nashik.