Haryana assembly in session: Oppn corners govt over DAP ‘shortage’

The Haryana government stuck to its “no scarcity of DAP fertiliser” stand in the assembly on Monday even as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the principal Opposition party, the Congress, cornered the government for failing to supply the fertiliser to farmers when it was needed.

The INLD MLA, Aditya Devi Lal, Congress MLAs Aftab Ahmed, Jassi Petwar and Shishpal Keharwala raised the issue through the calling attention notice highlighting the shortage of DAP fertiliser.

The INLD MLA stated that farmers in the state are facing severe difficulties due to the unavailability of DAP and urea fertilisers on time. He pointed out that the sowing of rabi crops has been adversely affected due to the lack of fertilisers. He said there is widespread anger and resentment among the farmers against the government over the shortage of DAP fertilisers.

“There is no shortage of the DAP,” chief minister Nayab Singh Saini said even as former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that delayed supply of the DAP was an exercise in futility.

“Time is the essence,” Hooda said, pointing out that the government had failed to provide DAP when the farmers needed the fertiliser.

Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed said that the cultivators of his Mewat region did not get DAP when they were sowing wheat. “Wheat is sown early in my segment and DAP was not available when farmers needed it,” Ahmed said asking why would farmers come to meet their MLA to inform the scarcity of the DAP if it was not in short supply.

Another Congress MLA, Jassi Petwar, said that the farmers of his assembly segment were unable to sow wheat due to shortage of the DAP.

As the Opposition generated heat on the government, chief minister Saini interjected and said that he had already given a detailed reply in the House on the status of the DAP. “Rumours are being spread that there is a shortage of the DAP. There is no shortage of the fertilisers. We have sufficient stocks...,” said CM Saini.

Meanwhile, agriculture and farmers’ welfare minister Shayam Singh Rana said that the state government is administratively capable of making arrangements for all types of fertilisers and their proper distribution as per the requirements of the farmers in the state.

Rana said the Centre has allocated 2. 60 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of DAP for the current rabi season. He said out of 2.06 lakh MT of DAP fertiliser so far made available for the state, about 1.86 lakh MT have been consumed till November 15. During the same period last year, 1.65 lakh MT DAP was consumed. He informed that 21,000 MT of DAP is still available in the districts.

He said that the farmers of the state are not only dependent on DAP but also use NPK and single super phosphate (SSP) fertilisers as per their choice to grow rabi crops. These fertilisers have also been made available to the farmers to ensure complete nutrients of the crop.