NEW DELHI: Struggling to dispose of the huge stock of pulses , the consumer affairs department now wants to offer the key nutritious food item for "free" for government schemes such as midday meal , supplementary nutrition to children, pregnant and lactating mothers under the Integrated Child Development Scheme ICDS ). The proposal is likely to be approved by the Cabinet on Friday.This is for the first time such a proposal has been moved by any department. "This is seen as a better option to dispose of some portion of the pulses, which had been procured to create buffer stock. The shelf life of pulses, particularly moong, is less. There are hardly any takers for the stock in the market as the prices have crashed," said a government official, with a condition of anonymity.The department had moved the proposal to the Cabinet to create a provision to enable ministries to provide nutrition component in their schemes in "kind". An official said that since the pulses will be supplied free of cost to agencies under the ministries such as women and child welfare, human resource development, tribal affairs and social justice and empowerment, there will be no controversy.The consumer affairs department has identified that only the human resource development ministry, which is responsible for the midday meal scheme, can offtake 63,000 tonnes of pulses till March 2018. Similarly, women and child welfare ministry, responsible for ICDS schemes, can take good quantity of pulses from the central buffer stock.Sources said that the quantity of pulses that the tribal affairs ministry will get, which also takes care of schools for tribal students, is being mapped.Against the total procurement of more than 20 lakh tonne pulses last year, the consumer affairs department has been able to dispose of only 3-4 lakh tonnes. "The government are still sitting on about 17 lakh tonnes and these have to be disposed of before they become unusable," said an official.