Rajasthan farmers go to buy urea, are asked to show Aadhaar instead

Even as the farmers in Rajasthan are battling urea shortage when they are just a fortnight away from reaping their Rabi produce, a state government order to the authorised cooperatives and Krishi Kendras mandating Aadhaar for purchases has taken the farming community surprise.

Farmers in Alwar, who lined up for urea purchase at the authorised centres, were in for a shock when they were asked to produce their Aadhaar cards. Many farmers didn't have their Aadhaar cards and had to return empty-handed after the agriculture department gave instructions to link the purchase to the card.

Alwar Cooperatives Committee chairman, Rameshwar Dayal Chaudhary, said the decision to validate the identity of purchaser is to protect the genuine buyers from black marketeers and hoarders. "Urea shortage is exploited by the hoarders who retail it to farmers for a premium. This move is to safeguard their interest and prevent artificial shortage," he said.

Sources in the government said that the linking of Aadhaar for purchase is not a new decision. This decision was taken by the previous Vasundhara Raje government in 2017.

"Fertilizer is being distributed through point of sale (POS) machines installed at the government authorised shops spread across the state. The system was introduced in Rajasthan in November 2017 after a pilot program was done in Pali and Alwar in the state," a government official said.

In this system, a farmer feeds his Aadhaar number in the machine and gives his thumb impression leading to biometric identification following which the farmer can purchase fertilizer and urea. "Most farmers registered with the cooperatives have Aadhaar cards in these two districts," the official said.

Department officials claimed 99 per cent farmers registered with them have Aadhar cards.

A war of words between the Congress government in state and the Modi government at the Centre has erupted after the shortfall of urea led to protests by farmers and newly-elected Congress legislators in Rajasthan. According to the official data, there is a shortfall of 1.6 lakh metric tonnes of urea on a monthly basis in the state.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who had dispatched the agriculture secretary to New Delhi immediately after taking charge to resolve the urea shortage, has alleged that the Centre's policy is leading to artificial shortfall of urea in state.

Reacting to his charges, Kota MP Om Birla claimed none of the states, even where non-BJP governments are in power, have ever charged the BJP-led government at the Centre of partiality with the states. "We are concerned about timely supply of urea in state, but to accuse the Union government of being biased guards state is not justifiable," he said.

(with inputs from Zee News)