Gandhinagar, Aug 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Gujarat government has appointed Special Investigation Officers and Inspection Officers across the state to strengthen oversight of subsidised fertiliser distribution, as part of a fresh drive to curb black marketing, hoarding, counterfeit fertilisers and the diversion of subsidised stocks for non-agricultural use.
The decision was taken by the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department on the instructions of Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani, with the stated aim of ensuring that farmers receive chemical fertilisers in adequate quantities, at reasonable prices and through a transparent distribution system.
Announcing the measures on Wednesday, Vaghani said the government would not tolerate irregularities such as the diversion of subsidised fertilisers for industrial or other non-agricultural purposes, the creation of artificial shortages through hoarding, black marketing, the sale of fake fertilisers, or the compulsory tagging of other products with urea sales.
"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 minister said.
Under the new mechanism, Investigation Officers will carry out on-site inspections of fertiliser dealers and verify records generated through point-of-sale (POS) machines against the physical stock available.
They will also conduct detailed checks of the highest urea-selling dealers in every district to identify any discrepancies in stock or distribution.
The officers have also been tasked with verifying whether farmers are receiving fertilisers according to their requirements and whether dealers are forcing the purchase of other fertilisers or products along with urea without farmers' consent.
As part of the enforcement drive, Investigation Officers will inspect industrial units using urea and collect samples of suspected urea to ensure that subsidised fertiliser is not being diverted from agricultural use.
Zone-wise Inspection Officers have been appointed to supervise the work of the Investigation Officers.
According to the government, the entire exercise will be monitored daily by the Director of Agriculture through a state-level control room.
Vaghani said strict legal action would be taken against any dealer or agency found violating regulations during inspections, including cases involving stock discrepancies, overpricing or compulsory tagging of products with urea.
"The State Government remains fully committed to ensuring that farmers receive an uninterrupted supply of fertilisers at fair prices," he said.
Source: IANS
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