Indian Govt Acts To Check Hoarding Of Pulses

(RTTNews) - The Indian government said it is carrying out inspections on dealers/stockists of pulses and taking action against hoarders and blackmarketeers to boost supply and control skyrocketing prices of tur dal that have shot up to Rs 200 per kg in the country.

Over 5,800 tons of pulses have been seized in five states in the last few months, the PTI quoted Consumer Affairs Secretary C Vishwanath as saying.

The Centre had directed state governments to enforce the Essential Commodities Act more stringently and impose stock limits on pulses sourced from imports, held by exporters, large food processing units as well as large departmental retailers. The state governments were exhorted to carryout surprise inspections and raids to prevent hoarding of pulses.

In Maharashtra, raids have been conducted in Mumbai, Aurangabad, Pune, Amravati, Nasik and Nagpur. Similarly, inspections were carried out in Mysore district in Karnataka resulting in recovery of 3600 quintals of pulses. Raids have also been carried out in Bengaluru.

In Madhya Pradesh, raids were conducted in 25 locations resulting in seizure of 2295 metric tons of pulses. In Telangana, 1820 raids have been conducted which resulted in seizure of 2546 metric tons of pulses.

Andhra Pradesh Government has seized 600 metric tons of pulses in 56 raids. Rajasthan Government has also intensified enforcement of stock limits. Similar enforcement action against hoarding and black-marketing is also being taken in other states.

To moderate the prices of pulses, imported pulses have been allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as per their requests. Other states have also been asked to indicate their immediate requirements of pulses from the imported stocks for distribution through retail outlets.

The Centre has also increased the retail distribution of tur dal at the rate of Rs 120/- per kg through nearly 500 outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and Safal in and around Delhi and other locations.