From now on, the Assam State Agricultural Marketing Board (ASAMB) will be the sole distributor of Urea in the state. It will directly supply urea to registered retailers. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been undertaken by the State Agriculture Department to streamline the supply and distribution of urea in Assam.

The ASAMB will acquire urea from manufacturers such as Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited, Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative, etc., and provide it to the registered retailers for distribution to farmers.

The Agricultural Minister Atul Bora, while launching the new system in Guwahati on November 7, said that a new step had been taken in view of evidence that some dealers and retailers were violating official norms regarding the supply and distribution of urea by indulging in monopoly trade.

He added that in view of much-known evidence of irregularities, the licenses of 1272 retailers had been canceled. Additionally, more than 3000 persons/firms had already applied for retail licenses under the ASAMB.

The entire process of supply and distribution of urea will now be online and it will be centrally monitored to prevent any anomaly. the ASAMB has set up one cell each in 33 districts for the purpose and one godown will be also set up in each district for the storage of urea.

He further said that although the new SOP was prepared in July this year with a view to regulating the supply and distribution of urea, it could be implemented only now due to some technical issues.

The Director of the Agriculture Department, Anant Lal Gyani wrote to the District Agricultural Officers of 20 districts on August 12 in connection with improper management of the fertilizer distribution system and sought detailed responses from them.

He had further instructed the District Agricultural Officers to take appropriate action against unruly companies and submit reports in this regard.

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