Govt must ensure adequate supply of fertilisers: Hooda

Ravi S. Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 21

The Congress has urged the Centre and Haryana governments to take immediate steps to ensure regular and adequate supply of fertilisers in the ongoing rabi season.

Former Haryana Chief Minster Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged the government “lacks intent” to ensure regular supply of fertilisers. “The governments must find a way to solve the problems of farmers whose crops have already been adversely affected,” Hooda said.

He said the present scarcity of fertilisers was an accretion of shortages since the start of last month. “Supply was normal till October when the Congress demitted office following the Assembly election. For reasons best known to the state government, the state did not get the full quota of fertilisers from the Central pool in November,” Hooda said.

On the Centre increasing the daily supply of fertiliser to the state for the current month on the state government’s request, he said, “The response of the state government is too little and too late.”

He alleged the policies of the NDA government at the Centre and the BJP government in the state manifest indifference towards the farmers. He cited non- implementation of the Swaminathan commission’s recommendations and said it was part of the party’s Lok Sabha election manifesto.

He was critical of the Khattar government for reversing his government’s decision to enhance monthly pension for the elderly, widows and handicapped to Rs 1,500 per month. “The new government reduced pension to Rs 1,200 a month, even though its own manifesto promised pension of Rs 2,000 per month.

This is perhaps the first government in the world to reduce pension benefits to the underprivileged,” he said.

He was also critical of the state government annulling his government’s decision to raise retirement age from 58 to 60. “Life-span has increased. Some other states have 60 as retirement age,” he said, adding tongue-in-cheek: “Are the people of Haryana weak and imbecile so as not to work for longer years?”

He pooh-poohed the government’s claim of providing 40,000 new jobs. “How can it be true to its word when only 5,000 persons will retire by the end of this month? The government has shown no intention of filling vacant posts,” he said.