A section of family card holders, activists and even dal millers have urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide masoor dal, which is red lentil, at fair price shops through the Public Distribution System (PDS) since it is priced lower than toor dal and is more nutritious. They say a portion of the dal being sold via PDS outlets at present is Canadian red lentil, labelled and supplied as Canadian toor dal.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that one kilogram of masoor dal in the retail market was only ₹140/kg whereas that of toor dhal was ₹210/kg. “The government buys toor dhal at wholesale rates and supplies it at subsidised rates at the PDS. If masoor dal is more economical, the government should consider replacing Canadian red lentil with masoor dal,” he suggested.
