Subsidised urea seized from plywood factories in Jhajjar

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, January 22

The Chief Minister’s Flying Squad has unearthed misuse of subsidised neem-coated urea by plywood manufacturing units in the district with the seizure of 95 bags of Kisan urea fertiliser from two factories in Rohad village here last night.

Sources said the urea meant for farmers at subsidised rates was being illegally supplied to the industrial units by a Bahadurgarh-based dealer. The names of National Fertiliser Limited Bathinda (Punjab) and Panipat (Haryana) was printed on the bags seized.

On the recommendation of the CM Flying Squad, a case under the Essential Commodities Act has been registered against the owners of both factories, the general manager of one of the factories, the urea dealer and the driver of the truck used to transport the bags.

The Bahadurgarh Sadar police have initiated further investigation into the matter, the sources maintained.

“We got a tip-off that neem-coated subsidised urea is illegally being diverted on a large scale to industrial units in Rohad village to make resin, which is used in manufacturing plies and other wooden items. Acting on it, raids were conducted on Sangam Plywood Industries and Lotus Wood late on Saturday night in the presence of the Duty Magistrate,” said Inspector Bijender Singh, head of the CM flying squad.

He maintained 65 bags of Kisan urea from Lotus Wood and 30 bags from Sangam Plywood Industries were recovered. Besides, a total of 80 empty bags were also seized from the two factories. A truck was also found parked at one of the factories in which the bags were transported here from the dealer’s shop at the grain market in Bahadurgarh town, he added.

“The market rate of Kisan urea is around Rs 1,200 per bag while the government provides it to farmers at the subsidised rate of Rs 286 per bag. Hence, the urea was being utilised in these factories by taking it from the dealer at much lower price than the prevailing market rates,” said Bijender.

He maintained Sangam Plywood Industries GM Yogesh Singhal and the truck driver, Rampreet Singh, were today produced before a court which sent them to judicial custody.