Minister Ponnam reiterates charges, blames Centre for urea shortage in Telangana

Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has once again accused BJP State president N. Ramachander Rao of misleading the public with incorrect data on urea supplies to the State by the Centre. Stating that the Central government is responsible for the ongoing fertilizer shortage in Telangana, he demanded the BJP leadership in the State to convince the Centre to supply more urea and resolve the issue.

In a statement, Mr. Prabhakar refuted the BJP chief’s claim that 12.02 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea had already been supplied to Telangana against a requirement of 9.80 LMT. “The actual supply from April to July stands at only 4.35 LMT against a planned 6.60 LMT, resulting in a deficit of 2.25 LMT,” he said.

He stated that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao had repeatedly appealed to the Centre for adequate fertilizer supply to meet the State’s agricultural needs. However, the Centre has failed to ensure timely and sufficient dispatches, he said.

Criticising Mr. Ramachandra Rao, the Minister said the BJP leader was speaking without understanding the fertilizer supply mechanism, which is entirely controlled by the Centre. “Even if fertilizers are manufactured within the State, their supply is regulated by the Union Government based on the States’ requirements,” Mr. Prabhakar said.

Citing official data, he said that 1.21 LMT of urea was received against 1.70 LMT (29% shortfall) in April, 0.88 LMT of urea was received against 1.60 LMT (45% shortfall) in May and 0.98 LMT was received against 1.70 LMT (42% shortfall) in June. “In July, 1.28 LMT of urea was received against 1.60 LMT (20% shortfall),” he said, adding that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy met the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers on July 8 to raise the issue formally.

“Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao too has repeatedly appealed to the Union Agriculture Ministry”, Mr. Prabhakar said, and suggested the BJP State president to focus on persuading the Centre instead of indulging in false propaganda.