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| Srikant Jena and Naveen Patnaik |
Bhubaneswar, Aug. 16: Union minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers Srikant Jena has turned the heat on chief minister Naveen Patnaik, stating that it was the prime responsibility of the state government to see that there was no hoarding and black-marketing of fertilisers.
“If the black-marketing of fertilisers is checked, the prices can be controlled and farmers can benefit,” Jena told The Telegraph over phone from Delhi.
In a letter to Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers M.K. Alagiri on August 13, Naveen said there had been a sudden spurt in the prices of fertilisers, especially of the de-controlled phosphatic and potassic ones.
The prices, Naveen said, were also changing frequently resulting in a chaotic situation in the field.
“The farmers are facing difficulty in ascertaining the fertiliser prices. As a result, unscrupulous dealers are taking advantage of the situation and exploiting the farmers,” Naveen said.
Reacting to the letter, Jena said it was the prime responsibility of the state government to punish the unscrupulous dealers.
“I don’t understand where the two lakh tonnes of fertiliser supplied by the Centre has gone. It was given to the state between February and June. There had been no sale of fertilisers till July. The dealers have enough stock of fertilisers. The Odisha government should verify all its stocks.”
Jena said the fertiliser, supplied by the Centre, had been supplied at the old price of Rs 18,200 per tonne and the farmers should be provided that at the same price.
“Fully aware that a situation like this would emerge in future, I had already raised this issue before the chief minister. I had even talked to the state government officials, including the agriculture secretary, on the issue, asking them to be cautious, otherwise unscrupulous elements would make inroads and try to gain benefit from the market instability,” he said.
On Naveen’s suggestion that an appropriate fertiliser policy might be formulated to keep the rising prices under control, Jena said that though the Centre already had a policy, the state government was free to give its suggestion in this regard and the ministry would certainly examine it. Naveen in his letter had suggested that the Centre, instead of leaving fertiliser prices completely at the mercy of the market forces, should take steps to keep the prices constant during a particular cropping season.
On the other hand, state’s agriculture minister Debi Prasad Mishra said fertilisers, supplied before April, had already been consumed and there was a demand for it in the state. He said the chief minister’s letter on the issue reflected the concern of the state farmers.
In July, Jena accused Naveen of shedding crocodile tears for tribal people as it had failed to implement increase in the reservation quota for them and the Dalit people in the educational institutions.
At present, tribals and Dalits (SCs) in the state are availing of 20 per cent reservation in educational institutions while they are entitled to 38.26 per cent reservation in the government jobs. Though the state has made a move to enhance quota for them in educational institutions, it is yet to issue a notification in this regard.
In June, Jena had hit out at the Naveen Patnaik government and the BJD, stating that the Biju Parivar was already dead and the attempt to unite the Biju loyalists was only to save the chair of the chief minister.
Jena had said the BJD has already merged with the Sangh parivar burying all its ideals and principles.
“They have lost their identity and betrayed Biju Patnaik,” he rued.