Govt unearths leakages of Rs 100 crore in urea usage in two months

Per year, about 1-1.2 million tonnes of urea meant for farming gets diverted towards industrial use, say officials

The Centre has unearthed leakages amounting to almost Rs 100 crore in urea during the past two months. The fertiliser, meant for agricultural purposes, had been diverted for industrial use. The amount also includes GST evasion in farm-grade urea.

Officials said despite near saturation of neem-coated urea, 1-1.2 million tonnes of the nutrient is still getting diverted from farming to non-agricultural purposes, costing the exchequer around Rs 6000 crore a year.

India imports 8-10 million tonnes of the 30-35 million tonnes of urea that it consumes each year.

Officials said the Union Department of Fertilisers has constituted a special team