Alagiri opposes urea price decontrol in letter to PM
On August 5, a group of ministers led by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had recommended bringing urea under the nutrient-based policy, raising price by 10% immediately and partially decontrolling the commodity from the next fiscal. The cabinet committee on economic affairs chaired by the Prime Minister is expected to consider this proposal for final approval in a few weeks.
Alagiri has now urged Singh to intervene in the matter as bringing other commonly used plant nutrients— phosphorous and potash — under the nutrient-based policy from April 2010 has not helped farmers either in terms of price reduction or in a wider choice of fertilisers.
“On the contrary, farm gate prices of phosphatic and potash fertilisers have risen. Furthermore, the subsidy bill of the government in these fertilisers is also growing incessantly,” the minister told Singh, emphasising the point that the industry was making huge benefits with no commensurate gain for the farmer. For example, the price of diammonium phosphate has gone up by R3,000 a tonne or R150-200 per bag.
Opposing deregulation, Alagiri told Singh that three out of four farmers are in the small and marginal category, who do not have any marketable surplus and are unable to recover
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