95% tur procured by Maha lies unprocessed, govt faces Rs 1-K

Of the over Rs 3,000 crore-worth tur procured last year by the Maharashtra government, over 95 per cent is yet to be processed to make dal out of it, which may lead to losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, a state marketing department official said today.

According to the official, since the procured tur has a limited shelf life, the stock that has been damaged will have to be thrown away.

"The government had procured around 67.34 lakh quintals of tur from December 2016 to June 2017 since there was a bumber crop. The procured tur has to be processed to make dal out of it, so that it can be sold in the market, and also to enhance its shelf life," the official said.

"Unfortunately, over 95 per cent the procured tur is yet to be processed. As it has very limited shelf-life, the state is on the verge of incurring financial losses to the tune of at least Rs 1,000 crore as rotten tur will have to be thrown away since it won't be of any use," he said.

The harvested tur generally has a shelf life of six months to one year, the official said adding, "It means, the shelf life of the tur procured before June 2017, has almost ended. Once the tur is damaged, it cannot be processed to make tur dal, which will cause heavy financial losses to the government."