RTI query exposes urea shortage in Bihar
January 4th, 2012 - 11:15 pm ICT by IANS
Patna, Jan 4 (IANS) Information received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that millions of farmers in Bihar are facing a shortage of fertilizers, particularly urea, due to inadequate allocation by the central government, an activist said Wednesday.
“As per information provided by the union ministry of chemicals and fertilizers, Bihar was provided 802.75 thousand MT urea between April-September during kharif season. It was 122.25 thousand MT less than what it demanded,” said Muzaffarpur district-based RTI activist Sambhu Mohan Prasad, who filed the application.
Bihar’s demand for kharif season was 925 thousand MT urea.
He added that in contrast, Uttar Pradesh was provided 2,604.91 thousand MT of urea, against its demand for 2,500 thousand MT.
Similarly, Punjab demanded 1,250 thousand MT urea but was given 1,328.26 thousand MT.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the RTI information vindicated its stand that Bihar’s share of urea was diverted to other states.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too has repeatedly blamed the central government for not meeting the state’s demand for fertilisers.
- RTI activist shot in Bihar - May 11, 2012
- Farmers protest shortage of urea in Bihar - Sep 13, 2011
- In Bihar, the woes are not of farmers alone - Sep 21, 2010
- RTI, the common man's tool to get things done - Oct 11, 2010
- West Bengal to provide Rs.33 crore fertilizer subsidy - Aug 26, 2011
- RTI activist assaulted in Bihar - Apr 05, 2012
- Activists flay Maharashtra's new stringent RTI rules - Apr 24, 2012
- Team Anna's candlelight march for dead activist Balwani - May 20, 2012
- Bridge over Ganga will boost Jharkhand economy: Munda - Sep 14, 2011
- Bihar's visually impaired to get RTI Act copy in Braille - Nov 10, 2011
- States told to act against RTI attackers - Nov 24, 2011
- 11 million-tonne-increase in kharif foodgrain production - Sep 23, 2010
- Bihar official demands huge amount for information under RTI - Dec 03, 2009
- Activists demand public audit for all government expenditure - Mar 12, 2011
- Centre to revive closed fertilizer units - Mar 05, 2010
Tags: activist, bihar, central government, chemicals, deputy chief minister, farmers, fertilizers, modi, mohan, nitish kumar, patna, prasad, punjab, rti act, sushil kumar, union ministry, urea