Agriculture Ministry probes Rs. 150 m fertilizer fraud

By L. S. A. Wedaarachchi

A massive fertilizer fraud of Rs 150 million committed by some agriculture and agrarian services provincial officers is being investigated by four teams of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Services, said the Head of the Investigation Unit of the Ministry.

Thirty agrarian services provincial officers and the Agriculture research and Production Assistants with two fertilizer marketing representatives have been taken into custody in this regard.

According to the Head of the Investigation Division, The Ministry of Agriculture received complaints from farmers of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Ampara Districts about the fraud. They have revealed that the corrupt officers have obtained the fertilizer from the government stores for farmers and sold them to the private sector for higher prices.

The Ministry will take legal action against the offenders under the departmental deciplinary code of Act No 12 of the misuse of the public property 1982. The offenders are liable to undergo a prison sentence and a fine, three times the value of the fraud.