JD(S) president accuses State government of misleading the legislature

CABINET DECISIONS DAP has been brought on a par with imports for calculating concessions. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a new concession scheme for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers that would reduce subsidy bill by Rs 1,163 crore, besides providing incentives to the industry to increase production. OTHER DECISIONS

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved the concession scheme of the Department of Fertiliser on de-controlled phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, which would reduce the subsidy bill by Rs. 1,163 crore, besides encouraging the industry to raise production. Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Prithviraj Chavan, told newsmen here that the concession scheme , which lapsed on March 31, included DAP, MOP, MAP and 11 grades of complex fertilizers. The scheme would come into effect retrospectively from April 1, based on a revised framework.

By G Manju Sainath, DH News Service, Bangalore: The violent and tragic twist to the shortage of fertilisers in the State claimed the lives of two farmers to police firing. As a possible answer to the fertiliser shortage, an agriculture scientist has suggested an effective substitute to chemical fertilisers.

Joe C Mathew With the Union Cabinet expected to consider a new pricing policy for phosphatic fertilisers tomorrow, the three-month long uncertainty of the fertiliser companies over the maximum possible farm gate prices of phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers may come to an end.

Anantapur, June 24: All-party committee leaders have decided to organise a Jail Bharo agitation and lay siege to the agriculture department joint director's office on June 26 in protest against the alleged negligence of the Congress government in solving farmers' problems. Speaking at a meeting organised at the CPI office here on Tuesday, leaders of the CPI, CPI(M), Mana Party, BJP and Telugu Desam (TD) said that farmers were facing problems due to shortage of fertilisers, seeds and diesel.

By C. ANAND REDDY

Tiruchi Bureau "The basal fertilizer requirement for core delta districts is about 20,000 tonnes' TIRUCHI: Just as kuruvai cultivation is gaining momentum in delta districts, there have been widespread complaints of scarcity of fertilizers. Though the timely release of water has raised farmers' hopes, their biggest worry this season is the scarcity of basal fertilizers, especially Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). The government has announced that it had already distributed over 22,000 tonnes of DAP, but the complaints persist.

C H Prashanth Reddy / Hyderabad June 19 The current fertiliser scarcity in the country and the mounting subsidy bill, which is expected to reach Rs 95,000 crore this year, can be partly solved by checking "injudicious usage" of the agricultural input and reducing imports by 20 per cent, feel manufacturers and experts. Reducing the availability of urea in various states by 2 million tonnes (MT) alone will result in savings of Rs 4,000 crore, say fertiliser manufacturers.