Congress' Surjewala blames Centre for non-supply of fertiliser to Karnataka

Bengaluru: Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday alleged that the Centre has not supplied adequate fertilisers to meet the state’s demand.

In a letter to Chouhan, Surjewala said in Karnataka, the monsoon has set in early this year, and rainfall has been about three per cent above normal, resulting in the sowing season starting ahead of expectations.

For the year 2025–26, the state has set a target of sowing on 114.40 lakh hectares, aiming at the production of 160.68 lakh tonnes of food grains and oilseeds, the Rajya Sabha member said.

He added that for the Kharif season, the sowing target was 82.50 lakh hectares, of which 81.85 lakh hectares have already been sown.

According to Surjewala, the estimated demand for various chemical fertilisers during the Kharif season is 26.77 lakh metric tonnes. However, there is a shortage of 3.36 lakh metric tonnes of urea fertiliser.

“It is the sole responsibility of the union government to ensure supply of fertilisers to the states as per their requirement. Unfortunately, the Union Government has not supplied fertilisers in proportion to Karnataka’s demand,” the Congress MP charged.

Surjewala underlined that from April to September 2025, 3.36 lakh metric tonnes of urea fertiliser that was due to Karnataka remains pending.

“Due to this shortfall in supply from the Centre, the state is facing an acute shortage of fertilisers. This year, the supply of urea has been reduced by almost 50 per cent,” he noted.

The Congress leader urged the Centre to “immediately release the pending urea fertiliser due to Karnataka”.

The MP also explained that Karnataka Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy had met Chouhan in this regard and requested the release of the 3.36 lakh metric tonnes of urea due to Karnataka.

“I request the central government to kindly consider this appeal and take necessary steps to protect the interests of the farmers of Karnataka,” Surjewala said.