Centre suspends over 4,000 fertiliser distributor licences on hoarding charges

The Union Department of Fertilisers has cancelled or suspended 4,298 licences and the registration of fertiliser distributers for black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of stocks. The Ministry had earlier issued 8,777 show cause notices to the erring traders, and 547 FIRs have so far been registered nationwide.

In a release, the department said it conducted a comprehensive drive with the Union Agriculture Ministry to protect farmer interests and secure the national fertiliser supply chain.

“Working in close coordination with State Governments, effective enforcement action on an unprecedented scale including raids, inspections, and legal measures to curb black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of fertilisers has been taken by the district authorities. These proactive and strict steps taken by the State Governments ensured timely availability, reinforced market discipline, and upheld the integrity of fertiliser distribution across all regions of the country,” the government statement said.

The Department said its officials conducted 3,17,054 inspections and raids across the country to monitor the distribution network. “These operations led to the issuance of 5,119 show cause notices for black marketing, resulting in the cancellation or suspension of 3,645 licenses and the registration of 418 FIRs nationwide. The campaign against hoarding produced 667 show cause notices, 202 license suspensions/cancellations, and 37 FIRs. To check diversion, authorities served 2,991 show cause notices, cancelled/suspended 451 licenses, and registered 92 FIRs. All enforcement actions were executed under the Essential Commodities Act and the Fertiliser Control Order, ensuring strict compliance and accountability,” the Centre added.

Separately, the enforcement teams, in coordination with State Governments, issued 3,544 show cause notices in cases of suspected sub-standard fertilisers, resulting in 1,316 license cancellations or suspensions and 60 FIRs. “Regular sampling and rigorous testing were conducted at multiple levels to eliminate sub-standard material from the supply chain, thereby ensuring that only fertilisers meeting prescribed standards reached the end users,” the Department said.