Fertilizer racket busted in Amreli, four booked

RAJKOT: A racket of illegal sale of fertilizer meant for agriculture purpose was busted on Friday in Khambha in Talaja taluka of Bhavnagar district. A five-member team led by Amreli deputy director of agriculture raided a shop on bus station road in Khambha on Thursday evening when a truck was unloading the stock of fertilizer. The team also seized 410 bags of 50kg each valued at Rs 3 lakh and seized the stock from the spot.
According to district administration, the main accused, Rajendra Parmar, was selling fertilizer directly to the farmers in the villages at a rate of Rs750 per bag without any license to sell fertilizers.He also paid the mediators Rs 100 per bag. Interestingly, the same bag of fertilizer costs Rs400 at the registered licensed shops and taluka outlets.
All the accused including Parmar, Mukesh Jitiya, Nayan Siyar and Kishan Yadav, who are conduits in the illegal trade, have been booked under Chemcial Fertilizer Control Act and Essential Commodities Act in Khambha police station.
The officers sent samples of the seized fertilizer for laboratory testing. According to law, fertilizer is regulated and license is required for storage and sale. Only a licensee is allowed to sell fertilizer at the subsidized rate.
Amreli district collector Aayush Oak said “Once the test reports come we will know if it is adulterated or not. But as he did not have license to sell fertilizer in Amreli and was selling it illegally at a much higher price than a licensee, we have initiated legal proceedings against all of them.”
He also added that the team came to know of the illegal trade when they questioned the people found selling it. Oak urged farmers to buy fertilizers only with invoice and from legal licensees.