Bihar to introduce licence to check hoarding of pulses

With prices of essential commodities skyrocketing, Bihar Government is mulling to introduce a licence system to check hoarding of pulses by the wholesellers.

With prices of essential commodities skyrocketing, Bihar Government is mulling to introduce a licence system to check hoarding of pulses by the wholesellers.

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As per the proposed initiative, it would be binding on the wholesellers to keep only a fixed stock of pulses and defiance of it would lead to legal action under the Blackmarketing Prevention Act and Essential Commodities Act, official sources told PTI on Thursday.

The system would come in handy to act against hoarders under the law, the sources said.

At present, there is no limit on the quantity of pulses a dealer can stock as edible items are out of the ambit of the act.
Meanwhile, the state government plans to import 4,000 metric tonnes of moong and chana dal from Canada and distribute it among the below poverty line families, the sources said.

The state government has already implemented a new licence system for preventing dealers from stockpiling sugar in excess of a permissible limit.

Under the system, the dealers can stock only 2,000 quintals of sugar every month, while the retailers can keep a maximum stock of 50 quintals per month.