Telangana police crack down on spurious seeds; zero tolerance policy in place

In a decisive move to protect farmers and safeguard agricultural integrity, the Telangana Police, in coordination with the Agriculture Department and other agencies, have intensified efforts to curb the sale and distribution of spurious, sub-standard, and unapproved seeds across the state.

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Fake or spurious seeds, which are not produced as per standard seed production practices and lack proper field history and quality certification, pose a serious threat to farmers.

These include seeds with low germination rates, poor physical purity, incorrect labelling, and even grains falsely sold as seeds. There are also reports of illegal sales of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) cotton seeds, specifically BG-III cotton, which is banned under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, and has not been approved by the Government of India for cultivation.