 "Govt not to revise urea price for three years")
"We have decided not to increase the urea price in the next three years", the Union minister said. He was visiting Berhampur in Odisha along with civil aviation minister, Ashok Gajapati Raju to attend the Bikash Utsav to explain the achievements of Narendra Modi-led NDA government in last two years.
"The era of shortage of fertilizer, including urea has gone. Now the farmers can get required quantity of fertilizers", he claimed. "Some of these measures have been taken for the benefit of the farmers as the Narendra Modi led government lays thrust on the development of the farmers", he added.
Ahir said, the government was encouraging the farmers to use neem-coated urea, instead of general urea. "Investment in neem-coated urea is less than the general urea. Production will also increase with the use of neem-coated urea", he said.
Ahir said, the work on the revival of the Talcher plant of Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) would be taken up very soon at a cost of around Rs 6,000-crore. A consortium of Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilisers (RCF), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Coal India Limited (CIL) and FCI had begun the process of revival of the unit last year. The technology for the production of around 1.2 million tone urea per annum is almost finalised. The project is expected to go on stream by 2018, he said.
The government has introduced the "soil health card" for farmers. Around 14 crore soil health cards would be distributed among the farmers across the country. The government has alloted Rs 435-crore for the purpose.
Earlier addressing an intellectual meet, Hansraj said the Central government is ready to sanction a pharmaceultial production unit at Berhampur, if the state government submits a detail project report (DPR). Several organisations in the town requested the minister for setting up of a pharmaceutical unit in the town.