Nizamabad: Collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu on Thursday informed that the district administration was supplying Jeeluga seeds (green manure seeds) to the farmers on 60 per cent subsidy for the cultivation of monsoon crop.
In a statement, the Collector said 6155.2 quintals of Jeeluga seeds had been allotted to 66 purchase centres in the district till Thursday. Already 5564.1 quintals of seeds have been distributed to the farmers with 60 percent subsidy and steps have been taken to make available enough seeds to the farmers of the district. “Officials have been directed to allocate seeds to the respective mandals in accordance with the demand from the farmers,”he said.
Expressing concern over the sale of spurious seeds, the Collector said tough measures were being taken to prevent the sale of spurious seeds in the district. “We are keeping a vigil on the sale of spurious seeds and taking strict action against those responsible,” he said.
The agricultural extension officers and other officials of the agriculture department were sensitizing the farmers in each village panchayat and conducting awareness programs about the precautions to be taken against spurious seeds, he said, adding that the mandal level inspection teams consisting of officials from agriculture, revenue and police departments had been formed for inspecting the fertilizer and seed sales centres.
On Wednesday, the Armoor mandal vigilance team seized 5540 kg of paddy, 360 kg of maize and 810 kg of soybean seeds stored in an unauthorized place in Surbiryal village and registered a case. Similarly, on May 28, police seized expired vegetables and onion seeds worth Rs. 14,825 from Balaji Seeds & Pesticides in Armoor and a case under Section 420 IPC was registered against the dealer.
The Collector advised the farmers to purchase seeds only from authorized seed dealers and collect bills with all the details including variety name and lot number at the time of purchase.