Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan asks states to crack down on hoarding amid increasing prices

NEW DELHI:Fearing spurt in vegetable prices, the Centre on Tuesday asked states to crack down on hoarders, ensure adequate supplies and remove inter-state trade barriers even as it considers making a second import of pulses to cool prices.

Scrambling for efforts to check seasonal rise in prices of fruit and vegetables during the July-November period, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan held day-long consultations with state food and consumer affair ministers while Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh sought to reassure of contingency plans being in place to tackle any situation arising out of rain deficiency.

At the meeting chaired by Paswan, a six-month action plan was chalked out to maintain supplies and check prices of pulses, edible oil, rice, onion, tomato and potato.

States were asked to monitor wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities and make market interventions on a realtime basis. They were also asked to amend Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act to remove inter-state trade barriers on staple food items like onions.

On maintaining the quality of food, the state ministers called for the apex food regulator to be brought under the control of the food and consumers affairs ministry rather than the health ministry. This will help India deal better with issues of misbranding and contamination, they said.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been at the centre of a recent controversy over lead content in Maggi noodles.

Ram Vilas Paswan said that the issue of bringing FSSAI under the purview of his ministry was not on the agenda of the meeting but that the issue had been raised by various state ministers.

"Ministers from across country and their representatives unanimously decided it should happen," he said. The food ministers of Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir had raised the matter on Monday.

"I took up this issue as in most cases food officials are questioned on any issue related to health. Misbranding and impurity issues can be tackled by us. We have passed a resolution that this authority should come under the food and consumer affairs ministry," said Saryu Rai, food minister of Jharkhand.

His Karnataka counterpart Dinesh Gundu Rao said the Centre should look into the issue as the department had the requisite infrastructure to test samples as well as the technology.

On the national food security law, Paswan said 11 states had implemented it. Andhra, HP, Odisha, Jharkhand and Lakshadweep will do so by September.