Hyderabad, Jun 1 :Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahender Reddy has said that the Police and Agriculture Departments in the state should work in coordination to make the state free of fake seeds.
The DGP along with State Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy participated in a video conference from the DGP’s office with state police commissioners, SPs and farmers on measures to be taken to curb the circulation of counterfeit seeds.
Speaking on the occasion, the DGP said that special task forces have already been set up at the zonal, district and state levels to crack down on counterfeit and counterfeit seed vendors.
He said the welfare of farmers in the state was a top priority of the government and police and agriculture officials should work in coordination to curb counterfeit seeds.
The DGP asked to identify the sellers of counterfeit seeds and take legal action against them through the PD Act.
He said police officers should have a thorough understanding on what are fake seeds and how to identify them. However, farmers should not face any difficulty in the process of identifying fake seeds.
The DGP said that the Chief Minister has announced that appropriate incentives will be given to the police officers who have achieved the best results in the prevention of counterfeit seeds.
Details of those arrested for selling fake seeds in the state for the last five years, farmers affected by counterfeit seeds, crop damage, sellers’ information should be collected and kept under special surveillance, Mr Reddy added.(UNI)