As rising prices of pulses continue to give a headache to the Government, Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha convened a high-level meeting on Tuesday to take stock of the situation and directed States to clamp down on hoarders and black-marketeers. Sinha reviewed the prices, production, procurement and availability of pulses in a meeting with secretaries of Consumer Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce and other Ministries.
“We had directed State Governments to enforce the Essential Commodities Act more stringently. As a result, some State Governments have carried out surprise inspections and seized large quantities of pulses,” Consumer Affairs Secretary C Vishwanath told the media after the meeting.
The meeting also reviewed the action taken by State Governments to prevent hoarding of pulses, besides discussing the progress of sale of imported pulses at subsidised rates in Delhi and other States.
According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, over 5,800 tonnes of pulses have been seized in five States in the last few months. The actions were aimed at boosting supply and bringing down prices of Tur dal that have shot up to `200 per kg. Of the entire amount, 2,549 tonnes have been seized from Telangana, 2,295 tonnes from Madhya Pradesh, 600 tonnes from Andhra Pradesh, 360 tonnes from Karnataka and 10 quintals from Maharashtra, the Ministry’s data showed.
“Raids are being carried out even today at places like Mysore and Gulbarga in Karnataka and also in Tamil Nadu. These measures have started showing results,” the official said.
Stating that the Centre is closely monitoring the steps being taken against hoarders by State Governments, the official said, “All these measures are expected to improve supply of pulses and moderate prices.”
In Delhi, the Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy’s Safal outlets have started selling imported Tur dal at `120-130 per kg from October 16.
Besides de-hoarding measures, State Governments have started withdrawing stock holding limit exemptions given to pulse importers, exporters, licensed food processors and large departmental retailers, following the Central Government’s direction.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have already issued orders in this regard, another Consumer Affairs Ministry official said. The Maharashtra Government had conducted raids in 276 locations in the last two days.
On sale of imported pulses, the Secretary said the Centre has fully operationalised sale of imported tur dal at a subsidised rate of `120 per kg in nearly 500 outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy’s Safal outlets in Delhi.
The Centre is keen to supply imported pulses to State Governments and has sought their requirements. So far, only Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have indicated their requirements of imported pulses.
“We have again written to other State Governments to indicate their requirement of imported pulses for retail distribution in their States,” he said.
The State-owned MMTC has already imported 5,000 tonnes of tur and has floated revised tenders for import of 2,000 tonnes of chickpeas. According to experts, arrival of fresh kharif crop of urad, tur and masoor dal from the next month would help ease pressure on prices.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Affairs Ministry data showed that tur dal prices increased to `210 per kg, from `181 per kg in the last week. The maximum increase in tur dal was seen in South India. Tur dal is available at `210 per kg in Puducherry, `205 in Bangalore and `200 in Chennai.
In Mumbai, tur dal costs `178 per kg while in Delhi, the dal is priced at `163 per kg, the data showed. Similarly, urad dal prices have also shot up sharply, causing discomfort to consumers, especially in South India, where it is consumed largely for preparing food items like idli and dosa.
As per the Ministry data, retail prices of urad dal are within the striking distance of `200 per kg as the commodity currently costs `198 per kg, against `187 last week.
Retail prices of urad dal are ruling at a maximum in Mysore at `198 per kg, followed by `190 in Chennai, `187 in Mangaluru and `180 in Puducherry. In Mumbai and Delhi, urad is available in the range of `152-166 per kg in the retail markets, the data showed.