LHC issues notices to federal, Punjab govt on urea fertilizer case

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the federal and Punjab government over a petition filed by a citizen on the lack of urea fertilizer present in the country.

A citizen Taufeeq Ahmed approached the LHC and took a stand that wheat cultivation has started and urea fertilizer is urgently needed but urea fertilizer produced in the country is being smuggled abroad.

The petitioner pointed out that the official rate of urea fertilizer is Rs. 1800 per bag while in black it is being sold at arbitrary rate of Rs. 3,000 per bag or more.

The petitioner pointed out that the government agencies are not taking action against profiteers who are selling fertilizers at exorbitant rate after stockpiling them. He said due to negligence of government agencies, fertilizers are not available to the farmers.

The petitioner expressed his concern that wheat production may be affected due to non-availability of urea fertilizer, therefore, the government should be directed to ensure availability of urea fertilizer. After hearing initial arguments, the court issued notices to federal and provincial governments.