Maharashtra government to sell tur dal at Rs55 a kg in rationing shops

The dal, obtained for Rs5,050 a quintal in the last kharif season under the minimum support price scheme, will be sold at a loss of Rs20 a kg

The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal to sell tur dal at subsidised rates, Rs55 a kg, at rationing shops. The government has also decided to sell part of the tur dal stock to various departments for consumption under their schemes.

The dal, obtained for Rs5,050 a quintal in the last kharif season under the minimum support price scheme, will be sold at a loss of Rs20 a kg (FILE)

The dal is currently sold at Rs75-100 a kg in the market. The dal, obtained for Rs5,050 a quintal in the last kharif season under the minimum support price scheme, will be sold at a loss of Rs20 a kg. The state is expected to sell about 10 lakh quintal dal in rationing shops, leading to an accumulated loss of more than Rs200 crore.

Of the total stock of 17 lakh quintal, about 7 lakh quintal will be sold to departments, namely school education, tribal development, social justice, home for the consumption in boarding schools, residential schools, anganwadis and jails. This stock will be sold at Rs75 a kg without sustaining of loss to the exchequer.

“We had a meeting with the operators of retails chains, but they offered to buy the dal at Rs56 a kg against their retail rate of Rs75 and above. We decided to sell the dal through rationing shops at Rs55 instead of selling it to retailers. The packs of 1 kg will be sold under our hologram to avoid black marketing,” said an official from the marketing department.

The state procured 25.25 lakh quintal of last kharif season. Due to low prices of the tur in the retail market, government’s attempt to auction the stock failed, forcing it to opt for disposal through rationing shops.