Chandigarh, Sep 8 (PTI) Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Thursday said the state government will bring a law to prevent the sale of duplicate and substandard pesticides, fertilisers and seeds.

It will be mandatory for the shopkeepers to issue a bill on purchase to the farmers and if anyone is found violating, strict action will be taken, he said.

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The minister also warned the officers of the department and said if any officer is found involved in any malpractices, then he will not be spared.

"To save future generations of Punjab, it is most important to save the agriculture of the state," he said in an official release.

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Addressing the representatives of pesticide manufacturers, Dhaliwal lashed out at the previous governments for allegedly allowing the sale of fake and non-standard pesticides, fertilisers and seeds in the state, and said that due to their negligence, there has been a major decline in the quality of agricultural products.

He said the state government will not allow the sale of duplicate and sub-standard pesticides, fertilisers and seeds at any cost.

A state-of-the-art lab will be established in Jalandhar for testing pesticides, fertilisers and seeds and the earlier three labs will be modernised, he added.

(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)