The task force on checking production and sale of spurious seed has decided to step up vigil on routes connecting Telangana with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra to prevent the flow of inferior quality seed into the State from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh through other neighbouring States.
At a meeting held here on Tuesday, Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy suggested that the authorities step up vigil on Kurnool-Gadwal, Zaheerabad, Prakasam-Guntur, and Asifabad-Bellampally routes which helped illicit traders smuggle in the spurious seed into different parts of Telangana from Gujarat and AP for the last few years.
The spurious seed problem could be checked further with focus on increased vigilance on those routes, he felt. Although the menace had come down considerably in recent years due to stern measures initiated by the State Government including invoking Preventive Detention Act against those indulging in spurious seed trade, it would need continuation of such action with the coordination of police, agriculture and other departments to minimise it further.
