Government tightens noose on hoarders of pulses

The central government is taking stringent action against hoarders and blackmarketers in order to check the rising prices of pulses. Five state governments in the last few months have seized more than 5,800 tonnes of pulses. While public sector company Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) has imported 5,000 tonnes of tur dal. Essentially the government by increasing the import and keeping a check on hoarders and blackmarketers wants to scale down the prices.

On Tuesday, the cabinet secretary met the secretaries of consumer affairs, agriculture ministry and various other ministries to analyze the prices of pulses, its production and availability. An analysis was also done about the steps taken against the hoarders and blackmarketers.

According to consumer affairs ministry, more than 5,800 tonnes of pulses have been seized out of which 2,549 tonnes were seized from Telangana, 2,295 tonnes from Madhya Pradesh, 600 tonnes from Andhra Pradesh, 360 tonnes from Karnataka and 10 quintals from Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the government has already ended the storage limit given to importers, exporters, food processing units and large departmental stores to check rising prices of pulses.

 

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