Bhubaneswar, July 18: The price of various varieties of dal have not decreased as expected despite the state government reducing the value-added tax (VAT) on pulses from five to one per cent from July 1. Gram dal has instead become costlier.

The price of arhar dal fallen but that of other pulses has not reduced as expected.

Arhar dal is now sold in the retail market at Rs 140 a kg, moong dal at Rs 120 a kg and gram dal at Rs 110 a kg.

On June 28, when the cabinet had decided to revise VAT on dal, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said: "The traders had promised that if the VAT was revised, it would not affect revenue collection and would have a positive impact on the prices that would be passed on to the consumers. We will observe during the next three months the impact of VAT revision on revenue collection and price revision. We will then take the final call."

Federation of All-Odisha Traders' Association general secretary Sudhakar Panda had said that the VAT revision would definitely bring the prices down.

However, observing the situation, food supplies secretary P.K. Mohapatra had shot off a letter to all district collectors asking them to conduct market studies on the wholesale and retail prices of dal.

"We are keeping a close watch on the market situation and will recommend action against unscrupulous traders," said deputy director, market intelligence, Pravakar Rout.

Panda said VAT had been reduced by four per cent and it has had its impact on the dal prices. "The arhar dal price has fallen from Rs 140 to Rs 130 a kg. The price of moong has also fallen correspondingly."

He, however, conceded that the gram dal price had climbed by Rs 30 a kg.

"We have no control over the price of gram dal because it has been listed under the National Commodity Exchange. The price fluctuates based on speculation," he said, adding that they had urged the Centre to de-list gram dal from the National Commodity Exchange. "But the Centre has not accepted our demand."

Panda, however, hoped that the prices would fall in the coming days, as dal cultivation in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had been higher this year because of favourable weather conditions.