Allot 10,000 MT each of wheat and tur dal to cool the prices, CM Stalin urges Centre

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday urged Union Minister of consumer affairs, food, and public distribution Piyush Goyal to allot 10,000 metric tonnes each of wheat and tur dal per month from the central stock to cool the prices. He pointed out the increase in the prices of selected essential food commodities as a part of the nationwide inflationary trend.

The chief minister, in his letter, said, “Tamil Nadu government has floated bids for procuring some of the above items from domestic or foreign producers and they are in process. I request you to kindly expedite the union government’s efforts to import these products, in view of the shortage in domestic production.”

அத்தியாவசிய உணவுப் பொருட்களின் விலை உயர்வினைக் கட்டுப்படுத்திட உரிய நடவடிக்கைகளை விரைந்து மேற்கொள்ள வலியுறுத்தி மாண்புமிகு ஒன்றிய அமைச்சர் @PiyushGoyal அவர்களுக்கு மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் கடிதம் எழுதியுள்ளார். pic.twitter.com/ZkQn7ahc8H

— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) July 12, 2023

Stating that supply from the central stock can ease the situation, the chief minister said the wheat and tur dal would be sold through cooperative outlets to cool the prices. 

Referring to the worrying trends witnessed in food inflation, the chief minister said the union government should take immediate steps to help the state governments in mitigating the impact on the consumers. 

The increase in prices of many essential food commodities including rice, wheat, tur dal, urad dal and vegetables like tomato has burdened poor and middle-class families immensely, he added.

The inflation rate, as released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, was high at 12.65 per cent for cereals and products and 6.56 per cent for pulses and products, during the month of May 2023. The recent surge is likely to substantially worsen this situation.

Tamil Nadu government is taking up various short-term and long-term price intervention measures like supplying vegetables, food grains, and pulses well below the open market price through cooperative outlets and Uzhavar Sandhais (Farmers’ Markets), Stalin said.

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“We also supply tur dal, sugar, and palm olein every month at highly subsidized rates for all cardholders through PDS outlets. Our State is also supplying rice and wheat free of cost beyond the NFSA coverage through our Universal PDS mechanism. Further, regular monitoring of stock limits of tur dal, urad dal, moong dal, gram dal, masoor dal, and wheat is also being done as per the directions of the Government of India,” he further added. 

“I had a detailed review meeting on this issue on July 10 and various instructions have been issued regarding the supply of vegetables, and groceries through the supermarkets/ fair-price shops run by the cooperative department and Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation,” he added.

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