Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], August 5 (ANI): The State Government has taken another significant decision to ensure that farmers receive chemical fertilisers in adequate quantities, at reasonable prices, and through a transparent distribution system.

According to an official release from Gujarat Chief Minister's Office (CMO), on the instructions of Agriculture Minister Jitubhai Vaghani, the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has made special appointments of Investigation Officers and Inspection Officers across the state to verify the distribution system of subsidised fertilisers and take strict action against irregularities.

Sharing details, Vaghani stated that irregularities such as diversion of subsidised fertilisers for industrial or non-agricultural use, creating artificial shortages through hoarding, black marketing, sale of counterfeit fertilisers, and mandatory tagging of other products with urea fertilisers will not be tolerated. To safeguard the interests of farmers, the Government has decided to deploy teams of Investigation Officers and Inspection Officers across all districts of the state.

The appointed Investigation Officers will conduct on-site visits to fertiliser dealers and thoroughly verify POS machine records against the physical stock available. They will also carry out detailed inspections of the top urea-selling dealers in every district. In addition, they will verify whether farmers are receiving fertilisers as per their requirements and whether any other fertiliser or product is being forcibly tagged with urea without their consent, a release said.

The Investigation Officers will also inspect units using urea fertiliser and collect samples of suspected urea to ensure that it is not diverted to fertiliser industries. To oversee the work of every Investigation Officer, Inspection Officers have also been appointed zone-wise. The entire process will be monitored on a daily basis by the Director of Agriculture through a state-level control room.

The Minister further added that if any dealer or agency is found guilty during the inspection of irregularities such as stock discrepancies, overpricing, or tagging, the strictest legal action will be taken against them.

The State Government remains fully committed to ensuring that farmers receive an uninterrupted supply of fertilisers at fair prices, the release added. (ANI)