SRINAGAR: The Agriculture Department Kashmir has strongly refuted story carried by some newspapers of Kashmir valley regarding the spurious fertilizers and pesticides. The department has said the news report is baseless, concocted and not based on facts.
Department has made it very clear that there is a fully fledged enforcement wing to check the quality, quantity and movement of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers in the UT of J&K while as the Department of Agriculture Kashmir has nothing to do with it.
In a statement Director Agriculture Kashmir has said that the enforcement of Insecticides Act 1968, Fertilizer Control Order 1985 is the domain of Director Law Enforcement J&K posted at Civil Secretariat, Srinagar/Jammu (Mohammed Allyas Khateeb, Director Law Enforcement J&K). While as at Divisional level affairs are being monitored by Dy. Director Law Enforcement (Mujtabaya Yahya Makhdoomi) and at District Level by the concerned Law Enforcement Inspectors. Furthermore, the department has said that Director Agriculture Jammu is the Controller fertilizer J&K.
The statement further said that it is very unfortunate and seems biased that the Agriculture Department Kashmir has been unnecessarily dragged into the issue related to Horticulture and allied sectors. The department has also said that it stands by its commitment of taking the technology from the labs to the farms so that the farmers benefit at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, Director Agriculture Kashmir has expressed his dismay over the unfounded allegations leveled against the Department in the said news item. The department has labeled the story as baseless, false and malicious and also has advised the concerned newspapers to seek clarification before publishing unverified claims. Department has emphasized the importance of verifying information before publishing it to avoid spreading misinformation.