PANJIM: The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has decided to dispose of 241 metric tonnes of rotting toor dal (yellow split pigeon peas) lying in its godowns since 2020.
The State government purchased 400 MT of toor dal from the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NFED) in April 2020 during the lockdown due to Covid-19. The fair price shops in the beginning lifted a small quantity of toor dal and decided to lift the remaining quota depending upon the response from ration card holders.
The toor dal was procured when its price in the retail market was Rs 112 per kg while the department directed fair price shop owners to sell it at Rs 83 per kg. But due to poor response from the ration card holders, most of the fair price shop owners refused to pick up the balance quota, and it started rotting in the godowns located in all 12 talukas.
When contacted, Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Gopal Parsekar said that the department has now invited sealed bids to dispose of the 241 metric tonnes of spoilt toor dal lying in godowns. He said that the department had tried to dispose of the inedible lentils over the past year, but received no bids.
The department might have decided to procure 400 MT of toor dal to tide over the shortage during the lockdown, Parsekar said.
