“According to inputs received from agencies, there is widespread smuggling of fertilisers in the region. We have instructed the law enforcement agencies of state governments to form a vigilance committee to check the menace,” Deepak Kumar, the director, movements (in-charge of fertilisers), of the Union agriculture ministry, said.
Kumar, who attended the North East Zonal Conference on Agricultural Inputs for Kharif 2011, said the governments had also been asked to form a committee to look into the reports of smuggling of fertilisers to neighbouring countries via their states.
He, however, did not elaborate on the leakage of fertilisers for smuggling. According to reports, smuggling of fertilisers like DAP through India’s porous borders is a thriving business. Nepal and Bangladesh are the favourite destinations of smugglers.
Kumar said Northeast requires around three lakh tonnes of fertilisers annually.
The conference also deliberated on the problems faced by state agricultural departments and their requirements to fulfil the needs of farmers in the Northeast.