NFL stake sale move has farmers worried

Bathinda, March 1

The decision of the Union Government to sell 20 per cent stake of National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) to private players has not gone down well with the farming community, especially marginal farmers. They rued that they were already burdened with high agricultural input cost and such decision would further increase prices of fertilizers, thereby affecting their farm income drastically.

Shingara Singh Mann, president, BKU Ugrahan, said, “Selling stakes of the NFL to private players will clearly result in increased prices of fertilizers, thereby burdening the marginal and medium farmers with additional input cost. If the government goes ahead with the decision of the privatisation of the NFL then we will chart out a plan to hold agitation against it in the coming days.”

Mayank Sharma, public relation officer, NFL, Bathinda, said, “With the decision to sell 20 per cent stakes out of 74 per cent holding, the Union Government has made its intentions clear regarding privatisation of public sector enterprises. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has already initiated the process for the same.”

He, however, said since the government would still have 54 per cent (above 50 per cent) stakes in the NFL, it won’t let private players to dictate pricing and they would barely have any say or control over it. — TNS