K Sudhakar.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Amid repeated requests by the Karnataka government for urea from the Centre, Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader K Sudhakar on Wednesday alleged that urea was being sold on the black market in the state, besides blaming mismanagement by the Congress government for the shortfall.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Sudhakar pointed out that the Centre had supplied 8.13 lakh tonnes of urea to Karnataka. “But farmers are not getting an adequate amount of the fertiliser,” said the Chikkaballapur MP, urging the Centre to ensure farmers got enough urea at the price fixed by the Union Fertiliser Ministry.
Meanwhile, Hassan MP from Congress Shreyas Patel urged the Centre to provide financial assistance to farmers who had lost their maize and coconut crops to pests. Citing findings from a team of experts from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), Patel said, “Maize crops across 12,000 hectares in Hassan district have been lost to attacks by pests. Coconut plantations across more than 1.18 lakh hectares in Arasikere and Channarayapatna in Hassan have been lost to pests. The Centre should announce monetary compensation to farmers who have lost their crops in Hassan.”
Congress MP from Ballari E Tukaram called on the Centre to release the pending Rs 374 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to Karnataka. “The Union Rural Development Ministry is yet to release Rs 14,603 crore under MGNREGS to various states,” he added.