The provisions of the recently passed farm acts by the Narendra Modi-led Centre are posing to be a challenge for the state government in regulating prices of pulses and onions, minister of food, public distribution and consumer affairs Rameshwar Oraon said on Wednesday.

Oraon said the Centre took away the state government’s power of enforcing hoarding limits for pulses and onions at various godowns, which eventually led to the unprecedented rise in prices.

“The new laws have taken away our power of enforcing a limit on hoarding of pulses and onions. This has led to unregulated hoarding of these commodities by the wholesalers,” said Oraon. “They (wholesalers) have hoarded pulses and onions and are releasing them in the market gradually at an inflated price,” he added.

Oraon, who is also the finance minister in the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand cabinet, said the government was planning to regulate the prices of onion and pulses in the state, and was likely to come up with schemes to provide these essential commodities at a subsidized rate through PDS. However, he added that it was too early to comment on the modalities of the system as the plan was at an infancy stage.

In Ranchi, the price of masur and arhar pulses have increased by Rs 10 per kg in the past one week. The price of onions has shot up from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 80 per kg here. On Wednesday, masur dal was being sold at Rs 80 per kg, while arhar dal was being sold at Rs125 per kg in Ranchi.

The Centre's law had given the government of India the right to regulate supply of cereals, pulses, potato, onion and edible oilseeds, etc, in the eventuality of war, famine, grave natural calamities and extraordinary price rise. Recently, the Punjab government introduced a Bill seeking to restore the state’s power to regulate essential commodities and enforce hoarding limits. The Jharkhand government may follow the same steps if needed, sources said.

Oraon said the state government was also planning to provide one kilogram dal against each ration card to beneficiaries in Jharkhand. He added that the government was committed to preventing hoarding of onions in the state, and thereby ensure minimal inflation in its price.

Last year, former food minister Saryu Roy had provided onions at subsidised price in parts of Jharkhand. However, it was only a temporary arrangement to deal with the crisis then.