The Centre has directed State governments to continuously monitor prices of tur and urad dal and take action against traders who are hoarding these pulses by not conforming to the stock limit order.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry asked officials of the State Food Department at a meeting on Wednesday while reviewing the implementation of stock limits, an official statement said. Representatives of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs) were also present at the meeting.
“The State governments have been asked to continuously monitor the prices and verify the stock positions of stock-holding entities and take strict action on those who violate the stock limits order,” the statement said.
The Centre on June 2, imposed stock limits on tur and urad until October 31 to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, with the objective of improving availability in the market. A stock limit of 200 tonnes was imposed on wholesalers, 5 tonnes on retailers, 5 tonnes at each retail outlet, and 200 tonnes at the depot of big chain retailers. In the case of millers, the stock limit was the last three months of production or 25 per cent of annual installed capacity, whichever is higher.
The government has also made it mandatory for these entities to declare their stock positions on the ministry website.
Verifying mismatches
Retail prices, quantities of stocks disclosed by various stock-holding entities, and stocks in warehouses owned or managed by the CWC and SWC in respect of tur and urad (both whole and processed) were reviewed in the meeting. The agencies CWC and SWCs were asked to furnish details of tur and urad stocks in their respective warehouses on a regular basis, the statement said.
The action taken by States to verify the mismatches between quantities pledged by market players with banks, quantities declared on the stock disclosure portal and the enforcement of stock limits were also discussed with the states.
In March, the Consumer Affairs Ministry constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Nidhi Khare to monitor the stock of tur held by entities like importers, millers, stockists, traders etc in close coordination with state governments. The ministry had also deputed 12 senior officers to visit various places in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to take stock of ground reality.