On Wednesday, the Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rohit Kumar Singh, reviewed the stock disclosure status of tur and urad with major pulses producing and consuming states.
Senior officials from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh attended the meeting.
According to an official statement, the registered entities and disclosed stock quantities were reviewed individually with the States, and areas requiring attention were identified to ensure that entities like importers, millers, stockists, and traders disclose their stocks.
While the number of entities registered in the stock disclosure portal has increased, it was observed that the actual number of stakeholders in certain States could be higher. The quantity of tur stocks disclosed as compared to production and consumption has also been found to be low in certain States.
To widen the coverage of market players, State governments were asked to look into the data pertaining to FSSAI licences, APMC registration, GST registration, warehouses and custom bonded warehouses, the statement said.
Last month, following a firming trend in prices of tur and urad, the Centre had directed the pulses trade to declare stock availability in a routine transparent manner. The imports of tur and urad are kept open till March 2024 to boost domestic supplies as output of these pulses during kharif 2022 was impacted due to erratic weather.
The States informed that they are intensifying surveillance and shared the steps taken to ensure mandatory registration and disclosure of stocks on the stock disclosure portal.
The States were directed to conduct verification of stocks held by various entities and take strict action on undisclosed stocks under relevant sections of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Black marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.
In order to assess the situation on the ground, the Department of Consumer Affairs has also deputed 12 senior officers to different State Capitals and Districts across major tur producing and trading centres to obtain ground level feedback from various market players, millers and storage operators.