Telangana Urea Crisis Major Flashpoint Between State Government And Centre

A severe urea shortage in Telangana has become a major political flashpoint between the state's ruling Congress government and the BJP-led Centre as the crisis threatens crop yields and the livelihoods of farmers across the state.

The fertiliser shortage has left farmers in distress during the critical Kharif season and has sparked protests, accusations of political discrimination, and calls for urgent action.

According to the Telangana government, the state was allocated 8.30 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea for the Kharif season by August but had only received around 5.62 LMT. This has created a shortfall of nearly 3 LMT, severely impacting farmers.

The crisis is exacerbated by a record high in paddy cultivation this season, which has increased the overall demand for urea to 10.48 LMT. With the monsoon creating favourable conditions, the demand is at its peak precisely when supply is low.

Reports from the districts suggest that farmers across the state, especially in districts like Nalgonda, are facing immense hardship. They are forced to wait in long queues, often overnight, to receive a meagre quantity of fertiliser that is insufficient for their crops. There have been reports of protests and frustration among the farming community.

The urea crisis has turned into a heated political debate, with each party blaming the other. The Congress government has blamed the Centre. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao accuse the Centre of "deliberate discrimination" against Telangana by failing to supply its sanctioned quota of urea.

The state government says there are import delays. They say disruptions in global supply chains due to geopolitical issues, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and conflicts in the Red Sea, have affected the supply of imported urea.

There is also domestic shortfall. The Ramagundam Fertiliser Corporation Ltd (RFCL), a major supplier for Telangana, has faced a shutdown, leading to a significant shortfall in its supply to the state.

Congress MPs from Telangana have raised the issue in Parliament and staged protests, while Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has personally taken up the matter with Union ministers. The state has also accused the opposition of creating "artificial scarcity" and panic.

Union coal minister G Kishan Reddy and other BJP leaders have accused the Telangana government of mismanagement and creating an "artificial scarcity" to benefit from black marketing. They argue that the Centre has supplied enough urea and that the state government's "senseless talk" about a shortage has prompted farmers to hoard fertiliser, worsening the situation. Kishan Reddy also points out that the Centre has subsidised urea at a fixed price for years, absorbing a huge burden.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been critical of both the Centre and the state government. Senior BRS leader T Harish Rao has accused them of playing a "political drama" at the expense of farmers.

He has called on the Congress government to stop the blame game and take immediate action to ensure the timely supply of urea, warning that inaction could deepen the agrarian crisis.