Agri dept begins verification to check urea overuse

In the wake of overconsumption of fertilisers, the Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has started the ground-level verification of farmers who purchase 20 or more bags of fertiliser.

Sources in the department revealed that the Director had issued instructions to the Deputy Directors of Agriculture (DDAs) in this regard and verification had started from today itself.

“We have been directed to verify purchases exceeding 20 bags per farmer, with mandatory ground-level verification and submission of action taken reports,” confirmed an official.

The letter has flagged the unprecedented rise in urea sales during the ongoing kharif season. Mentioning “Verification of unprecedented urea purchase to prevent misuse and diversion”, the letter pointed out that urea sales from April 1 to July 11 this year have reached 6,63,714 metric tonnes (MT), a steep rise from 5,39,542 MT recorded during the same period last year. The department stated that the surge had led to a sharp decline in available stock and put pressure on the supply chain.

To curb potential misuse and black marketing, the department mandates that data from the Integrated Fertiliser Management System (IFMS) portal be used to identify farmers who purchased more than 20 bags of urea during June and July. These farmers are to be classified into three categories: Category 1 for those who bought 40-50 bags, Category 2 (30-40 bags), and Category 3 (20-30) bags, the letter stated.

“Field staff has been instructed to give priority to Category 1 for immediate on-ground verification, followed by Category 2 and 3." The letter further directed that from today, any new sales falling under these slabs must be verified within three days of purchase, and the action taken report must be submitted to the head office immediately,” said the official.

The latest directive follows a worrying trend observed in rabi 2024-25, where Haryana overconsumed 1,53,995 MT of urea compared to the same season in the previous year. Yamunanagar and Jind emerged as the two top districts showing the highest rise in urea use.

During the rabi season, Yamunanagar, recorded an overuse of 19,373 MT, and Jind followed with 16,913 MT. In the current kharif season, the pattern has continued, with Jind showing an excess of 13,327 MT and Yamunanagar 6,035 MT over last year.

The local administration in districts have set up flying squads comprising agriculture and police department officials for monitoring fertiliser sales at retail points, and checkpoints have been established along state borders to prevent unauthorised transportation. “These flying squads and checkpoints will help curb black marketing and ensure that fertilisers are delivered to genuine farmers,” said Dr Rajbir Singh, Deputy Director (Agriculture), Hisar.