Centre Urges States to Take Strict Action Against Traders not Making Full Disclosure on Tur Dal Stocks

Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh stated during a review meeting on the status of stock disclosure of tur and urad with major pulses producing and consuming states that the quantity of tur dal stocks disclosed as compared to its production and consumption has also been found to be "low" in certain states.

While the number of businesses registered in the stock disclosure portal has increased, he stated in a statement that the true number of stakeholders in particular states could be greater. "The states were directed to conduct verification of stocks held by various entities and to 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," according to the statement.

State governments were instructed to investigate data relevant to FSSAI licences, APMC registration, GST registration, warehouses, and custom bonded warehouses in order to broaden the coverage of market players. The state government officials informed the gathering that they are increasing surveillance and sharing the steps they are taking to achieve required stock registration and disclosure on the stock disclosure site.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh To assess the situation on the ground, the Department of Consumer Affairs has also dispatched 12 senior officers to various state capitals and districts across major tur producing and trading centres to gather feedback from various market players, millers, and storage operators.

"Further course of action would be determined by their feedback," the statement continued. In a meeting with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) and large organized retailers on March 31, the Centre urged retailers not to preserve their profit margins on pulses, particularly tur dal, at "unreasonable levels."

They were expected to adjust retail margins so that price increases do not disrupt the composition of households' pulse consumption baskets. Tur prices are under pressure since the country's tur output is expected to be 36.66 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), down from 42.20 million tonnes the previous year, according to the agriculture ministry's second estimate. Tur is mostly a summer crop.