Mulayam Singh’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav is ever in news for all the wrong reasons. After advocating “limited theft” for engineers in Uttar Pradesh, he has shifted his focus to cooperative giants like Iffco and Kribhco.
The Cooperative Minister has warned IFFCO and KRIBHCO of serious consequences if they did not supply the stipulated amount of fertilisers due to the state.
The minister stated firmly that the fertiliser companies would not be allowed to ship their goods to customers outside if they could not meet farmers’ demands in UP.
Both IFFCO and KRIBHCO have to supply 40 percent of their production to Pradeshik Cooperative Federation ( PCF ) of the state. The PCF is the organisation that distributes this fertiliser to the cooperative societies at the district level.
UP needs 10.35 lakh MT urea for kharif season and the amount supplied by the fertiliser majors thus far is just a small bit of it.
Shivpal Yadav said if farmers continued to face a shortage of fertilisers during the time when it was badly needed the situation might assume dangerous proportions. The minister added he had appraised the center of what could happen if fertilisers were not supplied on time.
The cost of urea is about Rs. 300 per bag but presently it is selling for more than Rs. 600. The black marketing of it has annoyed farmers.
Sources say the new govt. is determined to ensure a hassle-free distribution of fertilisers among farmers. It has issued strict instructions to authorities at various levels to ensure farmers get as much fertliser as they want.
