Of the over Rs 3,000 crore-worth tur procured last year by the Maharashtra government, over 95 per cent is yet to be processed to make dal out of it, which may lead to losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, a state marketing department official said today.
According to the official, since the procured tur has a limited shelf life, the stock that has been damaged will have to be thrown away.
“The government had procured around 67.34 lakh quintals of tur from December 2016 to June 2017 since there was a bumber crop. The procured tur has to be processed to make dal out of it, so that it can be sold in the market, and also to enhance its shelf life,” the official said.
“Unfortunately, over 95 per cent the procured tur is yet to be processed. As it has very limited shelf-life, the state is on the verge of incurring financial losses to the tune of at least ₹1,000 crore as rotten tur will have to be thrown away since it won’t be of any use,” he said.
The harvested tur generally has a shelf life of six months to one year, the official said adding, “It means, the shelf life of the tur procured before June 2017, has almost ended. Once the tur is damaged, it cannot be processed to make tur dal, which will cause heavy financial losses to the government.”
Irregularities in procurement
In its report tabled in the Maharashtra legislative assembly in the recent budget session, the CAG had pulled up the government for several “loopholes” in the procurement of tur and its processing.
At the end of the budget session, the government had suspended Anil Deshmukh, general manager of Maharashtra State Marketing Federation (MSMF) for allegedly favouring a tur processing company. So far, no action has been taken against that company despite Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issuing orders to register an FIR against it.
“The CM had given the orders in the last week of March, but there has not been any action against the company,” the official said.
Losses guaranteed
The Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) had availed a loan of ₹1,500 crore for the procurement and sale of tur within a stipulated time. “The board has no clue how to repay the loan and its interest when there are little chances of earning anything from the sale of tur,” the official said.
The state had procured tur at ₹5,050 per quintal, but today the market value of tur is not more than ₹3,200 per quintal. It means, even if the state sells the tur, it is bound to face losses, he said.
In June last year, the state government had said that it had procured 67,34,756 quintals of tur from 3,54,417 farmers. The total cost of the procurement was ₹3,341.32 crore.