Telangana to seek change in outdated laws against spurious seeds

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the State government has decided to deal with the producers and suppliers of spurious seeds in a stern manner

Hyderabad: Emphasising the need to curb production and sale of spurious seed, the State government has decided to request the Centre to amend the existing laws and bring strong laws. Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the State government has decided to deal with the producers and suppliers of spurious seeds in a stern manner.

The Minister stated that the Centre’s guidelines formulated in 1966 against manufacturing and sale of spurious seeds were outdated and need to be amended to mete out strong punishment to those involved in such offences. “Agriculture is a top priority sector in the State. The government will not tolerate the menace of spurious seeds as it would have adverse impact on the farmers. Telangana is the only State to file cases under Preventive Detention Act against the manufacturers of spurious seeds,” the Minister said at a review meeting for action against spurious seeds here on Friday.

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Niranjan Reddy suggested that the officials issue seed licenses in a transparent manner for a fixed tenure. He will chair a State level video-conference with the officials. So far, about 177 cases were registered against production and sale of spurious seeds, while 276 persons were arrested in this regard. Further, around 3,468 quintals of spurious seeds were seized.

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