Centre seeks report on action taken against edible oil hoarders

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The Centre's Department of Food and Public Distribution on Monday asked states and Union Territories to furnish details of the action taken against the hoarders of stocks of edible oils beyond prescribed limits as per its letters and reminders regarding the same, an official statement said.

Except Uttar Pradesh, which has issued a notification regarding this, other states are either in the process of or have not taken any steps, it said.

During a meeting with all states/UTs, conducted virtually, to review the status of stock limit on edible oils, the Department sought details of action taken by the respective states/UTs on its order of October 8 and the subsequent reminders on October 12 and October 22 regarding stock limit on edible oils.

The Centre directed all states/UTs to ensure that the consumers get the benefit of its initiatives on stock limit of edible oils and also advised to speed up the process of issuing stock limit notification in all states/UTs before the festive season, the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ministry statement said.

In this regard, Uttar Pradesh has taken lead and informed that they have already issued a stock limit order on October 12, which will soften the prices, it said, adding that other states' departments are either in consultation with the stakeholders or have already submitted the proposal to the state government for approval.

Chairing Monday's meeting, Joint Secretary, Food and Public Distribution, Partha S. Das stressed that the stock limit has to be notified by each state/UT based on their consumption pattern.

Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana have already submitted the proposal to the state government and imposition of stock limit is expected shortly, while Maharashtra, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, UT of Chandigarh have initiated the process of fixing stock limits and will soon notify relevant limits for different classes.

The Centre, in its order earlier, had directed that the state government has to ensure that full benefit of duty reduction made by the Centre is passed on to the consumers in order to provide immediate relief from the high prices of edible oils, especially during the ensuing festival season.

"This would also help in bringing down the food inflation and provide relief to ordinary consumers by reduction in the prices of edible oils," the release said.

The Department is closely monitoring the prices of edible oils and its availability to the consumers. Based on the interaction with all the states and edible oil industry associations, stock disclosure notification has been issued and it has created a web portal to monitor the stock of edible oils/oilseeds on a weekly basis in the country, the release added.

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