Siddaramaiah urges Centre to supply 1.65 lakh tonne of urea to Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday urged the union government to expedite the supply of 1.65 lakh tonne of urea to the state, citing concerns over growing distress among farmers due to fertiliser shortage.

In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers J P Nadda, Siddaramaiah pointed out that although the Centre had allocated 11.17 lakh tonne of urea for Karnataka for the ongoing Kharif season, the state has received only 5.16 lakh tonne so far, against a projected requirement of 6.8 lakh tonne by July.

"I request you to direct the concerned officers to expedite the supply of the shortfall of 1,65,541 metric tonnes of urea, as per the state's allocation, in the interest of our farmers," the CM stated in the letter, which he also shared on his official 'X' handle.

Siddaramaiah noted that some fertiliser companies have expressed their inability to supply urea as per the Government of India's allocation. He further highlighted that an early monsoon and increased acreage under cultivation—particularly in command areas of the Tungabhadra, Cauvery, and Krishna basins—have led to a surge in demand.

"The area under maize, a fertiliser-intensive crop, has increased by nearly two lakh hectares, while the area under pulses has declined compared to previous years," he said. Additionally, around 13,000 hectares of pre-Kharif land had to be resown.

The CM said that the urea shortage is creating unrest among the farming community.

Responding to Siddaramaiah's post, the Department of Fertilisers stated on 'X' that it has already ensured timely and adequate availability of 8.73 lakh metric tonne of urea to Karnataka—well above the pro-rata requirement of 6.30 lakh metric tonne for the ongoing Kharif 2025 season.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)