Kolkata, Dec 6 (PTI) West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on Wednesday claimed the Centre was not providing the required amount of NPK fertiliser to the state, which he said is essential for potato farming.

He said that there is a “design to deprive the state”, and accused the Centre of stepmotherly treatment.

Also Read | Garba in UNESCO's ICH List: Gujarat's Garba Dance Earns UNESCO's Recognition As 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'.

The minister said in the assembly that against a requirement placed with the Centre for 5.72 lakh metric tonnes of NPK fertiliser for 2023-24, West Bengal has received “only 78,000 metric tonnes”.

Chattopadhyay said the state is a major producer of potatoes and NPK fertiliser is a key requirement for its farming.

Also Read | Mizoram CM-Elect Lalduhoma To Meet Amit Shah, S Jaishankar To Discuss Issues From Refugees From Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)