Question : Urea Availability

a) whether adequate steps have been taken by the Government to ensure the availability and timely supply of urea and other fertilizers to the farmers and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of arrangements being made for the supply of urea and other fertilizers to farmers in the States particularly in Rajasthan and Maharashtra;

(c) whether the Government proposes to set up new fertilizers plants for manufacturing urea and other fertilizers in States including Rajasthan and Maharashtra; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the time by which such plants are likely to be set up?

MINISTER OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

(D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)

(a) & (b): Sir, the following steps are being taken by the Government to ensure adequate supply of fertilizers across the country including Rajasthan and Maharashtra:

Before the commencement of each cropping season, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), in consultation with all the State Governments, assesses the requirement of fertilizers. After assessment of requirement, DAC&FW projects month-wise requirement of fertilizers.

On the basis of month-wise & state-wise projection given by DAC&FW, Department of Fertilizers allocates sufficient/ adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by issuing monthly supply plan and continuously monitors the availability through following system:

i. The movement of all major subsidized fertilizers is being monitored throughout the country by an on-line web based monitoring system called integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS);

ii. The State Governments are regularly advised to coordinate with manufacturers and importers of fertilizers for streamlining the supplies through timely placement of indents for railway rakes through their state institutional agencies like Markfed etc.

iii. Regular Weekly Video Conference is conducted jointly by Department of Agriculture & Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Department of Fertilizers (DoF), and Ministry of Railways with State Agriculture Officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch fertilizer as indicated by the State Governments.

iv. The gap between demand (requirement) and production is met through imports. The import for the season is also finalised well in advance to ensure timely availability.
Thus, Department of Fertilizers ensures adequate availability of fertilizers to the farmers. However, distribution within the State is the responsibility of the concerned State Government.

(c) & (d): The Cabinet in its meeting held on 21.05.2015 has decided to install a new urea plant of 8.646 Lakh Metric Tonne Per Annum (LMTPA) in the existing premises of Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizers Corporation Limited (BVFCL), which will subsequently replace the existing urea plants Namrup-II (capacity 2.20 LMTPA) and Namrup-III (capacity 2.70 LMTPA).
Government of India is also reviving 5 closed fertilizer plants of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCIL) and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd. (HFCL) namely Talcher (Odisha), Ramagundam (Andhra Pradesh), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Sindri (Jharkhand) plants of FCIL and Barauni (Bihar) plant of HFCL by setting up new Ammonia Urea plants of 12.7 Lakh metric tonne per annum capacity each. Subsequent to commissioning/ start of the above plants, the indigenous urea production will be enhanced by 63.5 Lakh Metric Tonne per year leading to corresponding reduction in import of urea.
The other details including the time by which such plants are likely to be setup are as under:

S.No.
Project Location Time-frame/ Commissioning Cost of the Project (Rs in crores)
1. Gorakhpur, UP Feb, 2021 7085.77
2. Sindri, Jharkhand May, 2021 6977.01
3. Barauni, Bihar May, 2021 7043.26
4. Ramagindam, Telangana Dec, 2019 5254.28
5. Talcher, Odisha Sept, 2023 11611.48
(±15%)

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