CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin said it was the efforts taken by the DMK government that helped bring down the procurement price of tur dal from Rs 112.69 per kg in November 2024 to Rs 77.99 per kg in February 2026.
Udhayanidhi claimed that the reduction in rate subsequently brought down procurement rates in later tenders, including the tender floated by the incumbent TVK government, which procured tur dal at Rs 77.89 per kg.
Average procurement cost stood at Rs 109.15 per kg
However, Udhayanidhi’s claim was for only 5,000 MT of tur dal procured at Rs 77.99 per kg in February (DMK regime) out of the total 60,000 MT that was procured. The remaining 55,000 MT was purchased at two different rates. This resulted in an average procurement cost of Rs 109.15 per kg, as stated in the TNIE report.
Responding to the TNIE report titled “TVK govt buys Rs 31 cheaper/ kg, Rs 187 cr saved in 3 months” that appeared in the edition dated October 5, 2026, Udhayanidhi, however, did not dispute the reported average procurement cost of Rs 109.15 per kg.
Udhayanidhi also said cooking oil procured for distribution through ration shops was priced at Rs 124.90 per litre before falling to Rs 121.95 in December 2025 and rising to Rs 136.95 in March 2026.
Under the TVK government, cooking oil was procured at Rs 154.99 per litre in June and at Rs 148 currently. Alleging that the procurement price had increased by Rs 11 per litre, Udhayanidhi claimed the higher rate could have resulted in corruption of up to Rs 600 crore.
Similarly, responding to the TNIE’s report, former DMK food minister R Sakkarapani, in a post on X on Monday, questioned whether the government could guarantee that tur dal would continue to be procured at the same price in future.
He also questioned why the government, despite managing to procure tur dal at a lower price, had purchased cooking oil at a higher rate.