The Centre’s countrywide crackdown on hoarders has resulted in the recovery of 36,000 tonnes of pulses, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.
Jaitley, who was reviewing the imposition of stock limits and other measures taken by States, was unhappy that the States had not ‘discharged their responsibility’.
He said it was only after the Centre intervened and put pressure on the States that 3,290 searches had taken place.
“About 36,000 tonnes have been recovered and will now be slowly offloaded in the market … In some wholesale markets easing of prices has begun. There is a time lag between easing of prices in the wholesale market and easing of prices in the retail market,” he said.
Elaborating on the reasons for the current spike in the prices of pulses, Jaitley said that both domestic and global production has been low, and making use of this low availability, hoarders have kept large quantities.
Jaitley said that while searches are going on, the government had also met its commitment of importing 5,000 tonnes, which have already arrived and are being distributed.
States are picking up the stocks; Tamil Nadu has already done so and Andhra Pradesh has expressed its desire to pick up large quantities, he said.
Disclosing the current rates and availability, Jaitley said that in Delhi, tur dal is available at 380 Safal stores and 103 Kendriya Bhandars at ₹120 per kg.
In a statement released earlier in the day, the Food Ministry said that nearly 35,000 tonnes of pulses have been seized across at least 10 States.
As per the list provided, the largest haul took place in Maharashtra, where 23,340 tonnes have been recovered so far, followed by Chhattisgarh (4,525 tonnes) and Telangana (2,546 tonnes).
Sizeable recoveries were also made in Madhya Pradesh (2,295 tonnes), Haryana (1168 tonnes) and Andhra Pradesh (859.87 tonnes).
Prices of almost all pulses have been rising since end-April. Tur, retail rates for which crossed the ₹200/kg mark earlier this week, is the most affected along with urad.
The Centre also said that retail counters have been opened in Uttarakhand for pulses, with tur being sold at ₹145/kg.
Similar exercises are being undertaken in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.