Badal seeks adequate supply of fertilisers from Centre

Chandigarh, Apr 20 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has urged the Centre to ensure adequate and uninterrupted supply of fertilisers to the state for the Kharif 2007.

Mr Badal, who called on Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan at New Delhi recently, informed that the total requirement of Urea and DAP for the Kharif season was 12.5 lakh MT and 2.5 lakh MT respectively.

He urged the Minister to ensure the supply of these quantities in time to save the farmers from inconvenience.

Responding to the demand raised by Mr Badal, Mr Paswan assured that there would be no shortage of fertilisers in Punjab during the ensuing Kharif season and agreed to enhance the Urea allocation to the state under Essential Commodities Act (ECA) to 7 lakh MT he also assured to get 50,000 MT of imported DAP dispatched to the state to meet the immediate demand of the farmers of cotton belt.

He further promised that 3.5 lakh MT of DAP would be stocked in the state by first October so that no shortage was experienced for timely sowing of wheat during Rabi 2007-08.

Mr Paswan complimented Punjab for being the ''bread basket'' of the country and remarked that ''it is a critical state for our national food security and it will not be allowed to suffer due to the shortage of fertilisers in any case''.

Meanwhile, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Secretary S K Sarma clarified that freight for Urea will be paid to the suppliers on actual basis and a similar decision was likely to be taken in case of DAP. Therefore, the problem of Punjab being located away from the manufacturing units/ports would be solved to a greater extent.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Financial Commissioner Development G S Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Cooperation Kusumjit Sidhu, Chief Minister's Principal Secretary D S Guru and Additional Principal Secretary Gagandeep Singh Brar, Punjab Agro Managing Director Himmat Singh and Agriculture Director B S Sidhu.

UNI