People of Tamil Nadu prefer toor dal to masoor dal, State Govt. tells Madras High Court

Tamil Nadu prefers toor dal over masoor dal due to culinary preferences, leading to procurement decisions by the State government.

People of Tamil Nadu prefer toor dal (pigeon peas) to masoor dal (red lentil) when it comes to consuming lentils and therefore, it had been decided to procure only the former for supply through the public distribution system (PDS) though there is no ban as such on procurement of the latter, the State government told the Madras High Court on Wednesday.

Appearing before the first Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice R. Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq, Advocate General P.S. Raman said, masoor dal was used mostly in north Indian culinary whereas Toor dal remained the most preferred lentil in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the government had not included red lentil in the e-tender notification issued on April 14 this year.

He also said, the Cente had written a letter to all State governments informing them that there had been a bumper crop of masoor dal leading to the Union Ministry of Food being in possession of surplus stocks. The Centre had offered to sell it at a lower price and requested the States to consider it. “The government considered it but found that people here want only toor dal,” he added.

The submissions were made during the hearing of a writ appeal filed by a private wholesale seller of masoor dal. Representing the appellant, senior counsel E. Omprakash contended that the State government could not arbitrarily refuse to procure masoor dal, which costs much less than toor dal and has several health benefits too, when there was no specific ban as such in the State.

He said that masoor dal was grown in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and a few other States with the overall production being around 10 lakh tonnes a year. It was rich in protein and minerals. Though there was a possibility of kesari dal (grown in the weeds) getting mixed with masoor dal, they could be easily separated using grading machines, the senior counsel said.

He claimed that the State government could save around ₹150 crore a month due to the considerable cost difference between masoor dal and toor dal. It was also argued that a single judge of the High Court ought not to have dismissed the appellant’s writ petition by giving weightage to health grounds especially when masoor dal was freely available in the open market for consumption of those not dependant on PDS.

In reply, the A-G told the court that the State government as well as the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation were not averse to procuring masoor dal in the future if such a need arises. After hearing both sides, the Division Bench asked the A-G to get instructions within two weeks on the factors that the government would take into consideration while deciding to procure essential commodities.