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The Maharashtra Government has urged the Centre to resume supply of domestic natural gas to Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation, which was stopped on May 15. In a letter issued on May 22, the additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Sudhir Kumar Goel, said the “abrupt” discontinuation of gas supply may lead to a severe shortage of the complex 24-24-00 (ratio of nitrogen, phosphate and potash) grade fertiliser to sugarcane, cotton and grape farmers in the State during the kharif season. The letter is addressed to the secretaries of Union Ministries of fertiliser, agriculture and, petroleum and natural gas.

A company source Deepak Fertilisers is the sole supplier of such fertilisers that are used at the onset of the monsoon. The company, along with Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) and Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals (GSFC), meets the fertiliser demand of Maharashtra.

Grinding halt

According to Goel, Maharashtra requires 1.5 lakh tonnes of the 24-24-00 grade complex fertiliser in the busy season. The company could so far supply only half of the allocation. Its Pune plant has come to a grinding halt on May 15 due to non-availability of gas. Goel had alerted the Centre that majority of Deepak’s supplies are sold in the Marathawada and the suicide-prone Vidharbha regions.

“Non-availability of such products at such a crucial time is of grave concern to the Maharashtra Government as it would greatly impact the farmers of the area.” The Centre stopped gas supplies to Deepak on the ground that it was not a producer of urea that was sold at regulated price. The Government argued that since Deepak’s products are sold at market price, it should not have access to “cheap and subsidised” domestic gas.

Source-On Request