The Punjab government on Sunday chargesheeted seven officers and transferred another after an inquiry found that subsidised agricultural-grade (neem-coated) urea was supplied to the cattle feed plants of Markfed and Milkfed instead of technical-grade fertiliser.The agriculture department has also sent a communication to police in the districts to take action against private dealers based in Patiala, Gidderbaha, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala who supplied mixed consignments to Markfed and Milkfed. (HT FIle)Those facing action include Milkfed’s general manager, manager (AH) and incharge quality, deputy manager (purchase & store)/incharge (F&A), and senior assistant/incharge purchase of the Khanna Cattle Feed Plant. At Markfed, a show-cause notice has been issued to the chief manager, while disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the general manager, senior accounts officer (looking after deputy CAO) and senior assistant (looking after commercial manager) under the applicable service rules. A senior assistant (deployed as commercial manager) has also been transferred.Both state cooperative entities procure and supply urea to farmers for agricultural use, while separately purchasing technical-grade fertiliser for animal feed production at their cattle feed plants.The cooperation department has asked the Punjab Police to register FIRs against four private dealers for supplying mixed consignments of subsidised and technical grade urea.“We are not sure how long this practice has been continuing. It has come to light for the first time,” an official said, requesting anonymity.Random inspections conducted by the state agriculture department last week found that the subsidised neem-coated urea was being rerouted for industrial use and sold at a higher price.Technical-grade urea, used in the cattle feed industry as well as plywood, dyeing and colouring industries, and for manufacturing bathroom chappals, is sold without subsidy in white bags and costs around ₹61 per kg. In contrast, agricultural neem-coated urea is packed in yellow bags and costs farmers only ₹5.91 per kg due to the government subsidy.During inspections, officials found 1,340 bags labelled as technical-grade urea at Milkfed’s Khanna cattle feed plant. At Milkfed’s Batala unit, 1,740 bags of subsidised agricultural urea were recovered. At Markfed’s Kapurthala cattle feed plant, officials found 300 bags of technical-grade urea mixed with neem-coated urea. Laboratory analysis later confirmed that the sampled material was subsidised agricultural-grade urea.A government spokesperson said major disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the officers responsible for procurement and purchase.“Milkfed has issued major penalty chargesheets against the general manager, manager (AH) and incharge quality, deputy manager (purchase & store)/ incharge (F&A), and senior assistant/incharge purchase of the Khanna Cattle Feed Plant. Similarly, Markfed has issued a show-cause notice to the chief manager, while major penalty chargesheets have been issued against the general manager, senior accounts officer (looking after deputy CAO) and senior assistant (looking after commercial manager) under the applicable service rules,” the spokesperson added.The agriculture department has also sent a communication to police in the districts to take action against private dealers based in Patiala, Gidderbaha, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala who supplied mixed consignments to Markfed and Milkfed.The matter has been referred to the principal commissioner, CGST, New Delhi, and Panchkula, respectively, for detailed investigation and necessary action. To prevent recurrence and strengthen safeguards, chief minister Bhagwant Mann has directed the administrative secretary, department of cooperation to make Markfed the nodal agency for procurement and supply of technical-grade urea by sourcing it directly from authorised Government of India agencies.The chief minister said that accountability would be fixed at every level and no officer, official or entity found responsible for violating rules or misusing public resources would be spared.