The Centre plans to procure 1.5 lakh tonne of pulses in the current year to build up a buffer stock, as also 15,000 tonnes of onions directly from farmers to prevent any spiral in prices, as witnessed last year.

“Procurement of 50,000 tonnes of pulses at market rate is already over,” Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters here on Tuesday.

He said in the Kharif marketing season, 5,000 tonnes of urad and 45,000 tonnes of tur dal had been bought, while the remaining one lakh tonne (20,000 tonnes of masur dal and 80,000 tonnes of chana dal) will be procured during the Rabi season.

“We don’t want to leave any chance for panic or hoarding. We are asking all States to let the Centre know about their requirements,” he added.

The pulses are being procured through the ₹500-crore Price Stabilisation Fund, set up to check any spiral in prices of essential commodities. The Fund’s allocation has been hiked to ₹900 crore in Budget and the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry will be operating the Fund.

The Centre has also kick-started import of 20,000 tonnes of pulses this year, said a senior Ministry official, adding that tenders for urad and tur dal will be opened on Wednesday.

In addition, the Centre will procure 15,000 tonnes of onions directly from farmers this year via Nafed, the official said.

With regard to wheat and rice procurement, the Minister said so far 48.45 lakh tonnes had been procured in 2016 against 27.14 lakh tonnes (lt) in the same period in 2015.

The Ministry complimented some States, such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Telangana for their initiative in online procurement of foodgrains.

“This will not only make the process transparent but will also ensure that farmers get paid within 24 hours,” said Paswan.

Earlier, in a written reply to a question, Paswan informed the Lok Sabha that about 1.23 lakh tonnes of pulses seized from hoarders have been disposed of in the open market so far to boost supply and contain rising prices.

Total 14,482 raids were conducted in 14 states and Union Territories, he said, adding that “the anti-hoarding operations have helped in bringing down the rates of pulses.”