Crackdown on urea diversion to plug Rs 6,000-crore subsidy leakage

The Centre has launched a nationwide crackdown to curb diversion of about 10 lakh tonnes of agriculture-grade urea per year for industrial uses that results in subsidy leakage of around Rs 6,000 crore, an official said.

In the last two-and-a-half months, the government has identified leakages worth Rs 100 crore through various covert operations.

The Centre provides urea at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 266 per bag (of 45 kg) to farmers. It has to bear a subsidy of over Rs 2,700 per bag.

A senior official of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said there is an annual requirement of around