HYDERABAD: Realising the extent to which large-scale hoarding of essential commodities has impacted their prices in the open market, the State Government has finally ordered a crackdown on hoarders of pulses and oils. Accordingly, the Vigilance and Enforcement Department is cracking down on illegal storage facilities of essential commodities across the State.

Three months ago, the Vigilance and Enforcement Department raided 29 godowns and seven cold storage facilities in Anantapur and Kurnool district and found that 20.10 lakh quintals of pulses, tamarind, chilli and turmeric had been illegally stored under fake records. It was revealed that several middlemen had borrowed loans on fictitious names of farmers.

Delay in action

Though this fact was brought to the notice of the Government earlier, there was a delay in initiating action against the delinquent middlemen and in diverting the hoarded stocks to regular market that could have helped contain the price rise to some extent.

The Vigilance enquiry has revealed that in some cases, wrong addresses have been furnished to bank authorities for raising loans while in others, the quantity of the produce procured from farmers was staggered.

None of the names or the extent of land shown matches with the records available with Panchayat Secretaries.

Market value of the hoarded commodities in the two districts alone is to the tune of Rs.252.82 crores!

Another startling find is that none of the major retailers, who has invaded the market in the recent times to open swank outlets, is buying and selling pulses and other such commodities without a valid licence.

The Government earlier had a right to raid the godowns under the Essential Commodities Act.

But after the Act got scrapped during the NDA regime, it is left with little choice in this matter, officials point out.

K. Prabhakar Reddy, secretary to the Chief Minister, who is looking after marketing affairs, says: "The Chief Minister had brought pressure on the Centre last year and got pulses (black and green gram) excluded from the exemption provision. We will now use other methods to bring the errant hoarders to book."

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is planning to write to the Centre on the adverse impact of the decision to abolish the Essential Commodities Act on the price rise.

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