India's lentil output has fallen and prices have nearly doubled. (Representational photo)
In an attempt to cut legume imports, the government has reportedly decided to lift a five-decade-old ban on a type of lentil that has been linked to nerve damage and paralysis.
Hit by back-to-back droughts for the first time in over three decades, India's lentil output has fallen and prices have nearly doubled. Now the government has allegedly cleared three varieties of the khesari dal or lentil, which can grow in dry or wet conditions.
The opposition Congress party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of risking the health of unsuspecting consumers.
But the varieties that have been cleared for cultivation contain a smaller amount of a neurotoxin that can damage nerve tissues and weaken the legs of both humans and animals than previous varieties, said Narendra Pratap Singh, director of the state-run Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR).
"The government thought if in a reasonable quantity it can be consumed then why not allow it, particularly when there's a crisis and we're importing pulses," said the scientist.
"This is how the Modi government is tackling price rise - by lifting (the) ban on a pulse that's medically proven to cause paralysis," Congress party spokesman RPN Singh said on Twitter.
The three varieties now allowed have been ready for the last 10 years and "various experiments on animals have shown there are no adverse long-term effects if consumption is in reasonable quantity," IIPR's Mr Singh said.