Fertilizer crisis: Uproar in Parliament, 23 opposition MLAs sacked and reinstated

The state politics in Chhattisgarh has been gripped by extreme tension over the agricultural situation. With farmers in different parts of the state complaining that they are not getting the required fertilizer, the issue created extreme unrest in the Assembly on Thursday. The opposition Congress party launched a strong protest, highlighting the government's "failure" to protect the interests of farmers. They claimed that urea and other important fertilizers have become extremely scarce during the cultivation season, putting farmers in a difficult situation. In this situation, they started protesting in the Legislative Assembly to attract the government's attention.

Opposition MLAs held placards in the House and started raising slogans like "Give fertilizer to farmers", "Government is anti-farmer", etc. This disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly. The Speaker suspended 23 Congress MLAs from the session after the situation did not come under control despite his warnings. This decision further heated up the political atmosphere.

Protests broke out in the assembly premises after the suspension was announced, with Congress MLAs demanding immediate withdrawal of the suspension. Later, after discussions, all the suspended MLAs were allowed to return to the house. 

 Dr. Mahant said that farmers growing crops during the dry season are using diammonium phosate (DAP) fertilisers. He alleged that the state government had failed to ensure adequate supply of fertilizers and advised farmers to use alternative chemical fertilizers, thereby increasing the cost of cultivation by Rs 55 per acre.

Dr Mahant claimed that the artificial shortage of fertilizers in the state for the past two years was due to the government's "lack of willpower and apathetic attitude towards farmers". In the kharif season of 2024, the government had set a target of stocking 3.40 lakh metric tonnes of DAP fertilizer but managed to stock only 50,000 metric tonnes short of the requirement. 

The government had set a supply target of 3.10 lakh metric tonnes for the kharif season of 2025, but only 1 lakh metric tonnes has been stockpiled so far. Dr. Mahant emphasized that DAP fertilizer is crucial for optimum rice yield, yet only 30 percent of the total requirement is supplied in the state. He also said that the central government allocates fertilizer quota to the states.

Dr. Mahant said that despite the "double-engine" government, farmers are forced to leave their farms and protest on the streets at the state, district and block levels due to fertilizer shortage. Farmers complain that there is shortage of fertilizer in government cooperative societies, while black marketing of fertilizer is rampant in the open market, forcing them to buy DAP from the market at Tk 2000 to Tk 2500 per bag.

He also said that primary cooperative societies have been advised to use alternative fertilizers due to shortage of DAP, which is more expensive and of lower quality than last year, which is putting a double burden on farmers. Dr. Mahant pointed out that this is not the first time the state is facing a fertilizer problem, a similar situation prevailed last year as well. He demanded immediate discussion on the issue through the pending proposal to alleviate the plight of the farmers.

Patan MLA and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also said that Chhattisgarh farmers are suffering due to fertilizer shortage. He said that the government has failed to supply fertilisers, forcing farmers to buy them from the open market at double the price.