PAC asks fertiliser min to obtain quality certificates from States before paying subsidy

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today rapped the Fertilisers and Chemicals Ministry for processing subsidy claims of manufacturers without obtaining quality certificates from state governments.

"In spite of all procedures/ arrangements in place, the processing of subsidy claims without obtaining actual quality certificate from the States is unreasonable and illogical," the PAC said in its report.

The Department of Fertilisers had issued notifications to all States for submission of Proforma B1 and B2 would be deemed to have been received if the same were not submitted by the States within the stipulated period and subsidy claims in respect of urea and P&K fertilisers would be processed without their quality certificates.

"The committee recommended that the Department take necessary and stringent measures to ensure submission of Proforma B by all concerned States within a timeframe for settlement of recovery of subsidy from the fertiliser companies for distribution of sub-standard quality or short quantity of fertilisers as the case may be," the report said.

This would help the government in achieving its policy objectives and help farmers, the PAC said.

The panel also wanted to know the reason behind delay in recovery of undue benefit to fertiliser companies by using cheaper domestic gas. It asked that immediate action should be taken to determine the recoverable amount and set a deadline for complete recovery.