Delhi government prepares to check hoarding of pulses in capital

As prices of pulses soar, the Delhi government is seeking information on listed traders and their stocks to check black marketing

In order to check hoarding of pulses by traders in the city, the Delhi government has asked the National Commodity Exchange to share the details of traders listed with the exchange and the latest stocks declared by these firms.

A vendor sells cereals at a grocery shop in a New Delhi. As prices of the food staple increase, the Delhi government is looking to check pulse traders and prevent hoarding. (REUTERS Photo)

Prices of various pulses have skyrocketed since past a couple of months, with Arhar selling at Rs 180 per kg and Masoor at Rs 120 per kg in the local retail markets. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there was a shortage of 2 million tonnes of pulses in the country.

Senior officials in the food and civil supplies department of Delhi government said they had asked the trader associations to provide names and addresses of their members and details of their godowns.

Officials said the data would help the supervisory officials in matching the stocks actually being maintained in their godowns when they conduct raids to get hold of hoarders.

“As per the control limit set for pulses by the Central government under the Essential Commodities Act, a wholesaler cannot stock more than 2000 quintal at a time. The limit for a retailer is 50 quintal. Once we get these details, we would be in a better position to get hold of the culprits,” a senior official said.

The officials claimed raids were conducted in August and “disparities in stocks were found at godowns of 2-3 traders”. “Next series of raids would be conducted as soon as we get the details,” an official said.

The officials said while they can check hoarding of pulses that leads to artificial crisis, they have no role in procurement and supply of pulses which is done by the Centre.