“Bihar Receives Only 68% of Allocated Urea Supply This Kharif Season”: Agri Secretary

In response to media reports of widespread scarcity of the fertiliser, Kumar stated that all district agriculture officers (DAOs) have been instructed to keep track of the movement and distribution of urea to farmers, up to panchayat-levels, due to a shortage of supply this month.

"So far, the state has received about 7,00,105 tonnes (MT) of urea against the allocated quota of 10,30,000 MT for January. In December of last year, the supply of urea was nearly 97% of the allocated quota. We hope Bihar will receive its due allotment in January as well," said the agriculture secretary.

Kumar had convened a virtual meeting with all district administration and DAO officials and asked them to take action against anyone involved in urea black-marketing. "During this Kharif season, as many as 6,200 fertilizer installations across the state were raided, and 117 FIRs have been lodged against firms suspected of being involved in causing the urea crisis," he said.

He did, however, admit that the initial two months of the season, in October and November, had a cascading effect on the availability of fertiliser in Bihar.

"In October and November, the state received approximately 68% of its allotted urea supply. Although urea supply increased last month, overall urea shortage is around 32% for the entire kharif season," he added.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Kumar Sarvajeet, who also reviewed the availability of urea in relation to supply, accused BJP of spreading lies among the state's farmers and people.

"Our administrative machinery has been operating at peak efficiency to ensure that farmers received urea on time. The department has launched a massive crackdown on Urea hoarders. The crisis would last until the supply from the centre was streamlined,” according to the minister.