NEW DELHI: In a bid to cool the skyrocketing retail price of protein-rich pulses, especially tur dal (pigeon pea), the Centre on Monday decided to sell chana dal (chickpea) directly to consumers at Rs 60 per kg. Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Piyush Goyal launched the subsidised sale under the brand name Bharat Dal.
The subsidised price of chana dal is Rs 60 per kg for a 1-kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for a 30-kg bag. The milling and packaging of the chana dal is undertaken by NAFED for distribution through its retail outlets in Delhi-NCR and also through the outlets of NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar and Safal.
Under this arrangement, chana dal is also made available to state governments. The government believes that, unlike other commodities, pulses are interchangeable. However, traders say the government has no other option as it has stocked around 4 million tonnes of chana dal but has insufficient stock of other pulses to intervene in the market.