Surprise raids on agro dealers to curb sale of banned rice varieties

In a surprise crackdown on Saturday, the Chief Agriculture Officer, Dr Rajinder Kumar Kamboj carried out raids on fertiliser, seed and pesticide dealers across the Nawanshahr district to assess the availability of key agricultural inputs for the upcoming Kharif season.

Acting under directives from Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Deputy Commissioner Ankurjit Singh, Dr Kamboj issued a firm warning to seed sellers to avoid dealing in banned rice varieties, particularly the long-duration hybrid Pusa 44.

He said the sale of these varieties has been prohibited by the Punjab Government in an effort to counter the alarming depletion of groundwater levels. “Strict legal action will be taken against any dealer found stocking or selling banned varieties,” Dr Kamboj said.

To reinforce compliance, he said dedicated monitoring teams would soon be deployed at the block level to check for the presence of banned seeds in the market. Dealers have also been instructed to provide a valid bill to every farmer purchasing seeds.

Farmers were urged not to use uncertified seeds and to report any dealer refusing to issue a bill to the relevant block Agriculture Officer. The government aims to tighten regulations on seed sales and improve transparency in transactions.

Reiterating the administration’s commitment to water conservation, Dr Kulwinder Kaur, Assistant Plant Protection Officer, advised farmers to begin paddy sowing only after 9 June. She strongly recommended the use of short-duration, water-efficient rice varieties such as PR 126, 127, 128, 129, 130 and 131, which have been promoted for sustainable cultivation.