Centre asks caste details for fertilizer subsidy; farmers condemn move

CHENGALPATTU: Tamil Nadu Vivasaigal Sangam Friday condemned the Union government’s demand to provide caste details to buy subsidized fertilizers. In a statement, the farmers’ body general secretary Sami Natarajan said the union government, which has been burdening the farmers on various fronts, has directed the farmers to provide details of caste along with the Aadhaar copy in an order dated February 21.

“What is the need to provide information about caste to buy fertiliser? Why has the BJP government issued this order? Is the BJP planning to give fertiliser subsidies on a caste basis in future? We strongly condemn this,” he said. He alleged the need to provide caste details has come in the backdrop of the reduced budgetary allocation for fertilizer subsidy. He said the state government should ask the union government to roll back the order.

With the increasing demand for fertilizer and rising costs, the farmers are highly dependent on the subsidy provided by the government for products like DAP and urea. Chengalpet Agricultural In-put Suppliers Association president N. Raguraman said the move has caused fear among farmers.