CHANDIGARH, July 29 — The Punjab agriculture department has begun surprise inspections at 2,324 urea retail outlets across the state to prevent misuse of subsidised fertiliser, following a directive from the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.
The crackdown comes amid concerns over a sharp rise in urea sales by some retailers between April and July this year, triggering fears that subsidised fertiliser meant for farmers may be getting diverted to industrial use.
“259 retailers in Sangrur district alone are being inspected as part of this exercise,” said Deepinder Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer (Hoshiarpur), who has been assigned to oversee checks in Sangrur. “We are specifically looking into whether the sales are legitimate and if urea is being used by farmers and not industries. Any misuse of subsidised urea will invite strict action.”
According to an official letter dated July 24 from the Union Ministry to Punjab’s Agriculture Secretary, a routine data analysis under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system revealed unusually high urea sales at certain PoS (Point of Sale) outlets. Retailers falling in the top 10 percentile of urea sales across the country during the April 1–July 20 period were flagged for verification.
The Centre has asked the state department to complete its field checks and submit a report by August 5. In a follow-up communication dated July 25, the Director of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Punjab, assigned district-wise duties to Chief Agriculture Officers (CAOs) and Agriculture Development Officers (ADOs), instructing them to file action-taken reports by August 1.
Officers across all 23 districts have been reshuffled for impartiality and thoroughness. The probe is focused on ensuring that subsidised urea — a critical input for crop cultivation — is not being diverted for industrial use, where it must be procured at market prices without subsidy.
A senior agriculture department official said, “This is a matter of national interest. Subsidised fertiliser is meant for farmers. Any deviation from that not only affects food production but also burdens the government exchequer.”
The inspections are part of an ongoing initiative to enforce transparency and accountability in fertiliser distribution under the DBT regime, aimed at ensuring only genuine farmers benefit from government subsidies.
