Mumbai : To discourage the hoarding of pulses for speculation, the government, from Tuesday onwards, has intensified its drive against excess stockholding. In the last three days, the food and civic supply department of state has raided 1,931 shops and godowns and seized 43,397 metric tonnes of pulses, which costs about Rs 180 crore, from across the state and filed cases against 11 hoarders. This will be converted into the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) after the facts are examined.
Officially, the average price of tur dal stood at about Rs 156 a kg, while urad dal remained at Rs 138 a kg. Government outlets like the Kendriya Bhandar and Safal have started selling imported dal at Rs 120 a kg, government sources said.
Even after the efforts of the government, the rates are not coming down. So the food and civic supply department had started the raids across the state against the hoarders from Tuesday. In three days, the department had registered cases against the hoarders. Girish Bapat, the food and civic supply minister, announced that MCOCA might be evoked against the hoarders.
“Though we have registered cases against the hoarders, we will examine the facts and then convert the cases to MCOCA. We will check whether there is the involvement of any organised criminal activity or not. Then, we will convert the cases under MCOCA. Otherwise it will be very difficult to prove the cases under the Act,” said a senior official from the food and civic supply department.
To control skyrocketing prices, the government has taken several measures, such as creating a buffer stock of pulses in their godowns
According to experts, the arrival of fresh kharif crops of urad, tur and masoor dal from the next month would help ease the pressure on prices.
In Mumbai, tur dal costs Rs 180 to Rs 200 per kg and urad is available in the range of Rs 166 per kg in retail markets.
