Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan yesterday warned hoarders and black marketers of strict action as onion prices soared across the country due to supply disruptions due to floods in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and some southern states.
“I want to inform hoarders that we have a buffer stock of 50,000 tonnes. The affected states can boost their supply through agencies like Nafed and National Co-operative Consumers Federation Ltd,” Paswan said at a press conference, indicating that the government was taking measures to keep the prices under control.
Onion prices have skyrocketed in the last one month due to short supply from flood-hit onion-growing states including Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Last week’s rainfall has further aggravated the problem, due to which onion prices have surged to Rs70-80 per kg in the national capital and other parts of the country.
State governments have been asked to boost supply by lifting the central buffer stock, Paswan said.
“The situation in Maharashtra is very bad. There is no transportation. We have 50,000 tonnes as buffer stock. Fifteen thousand tonnes are out. Thirty-five thousand tonnes we still have. All state government can buy from us at reasonable price to meet the demands,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) has boosted supplies of onion to government agencies which have started selling it in the open market at low prices.
People queued up outside the Agriculture Ministry in New Delhi yesterday to buy onions at Rs24 per kg.
“In our area, onion is selling at Rs60-70 . Here I can buy it for Rs24 per kg. It’s a big relief,” said a woman standing in the queue.
The Delhi government said it had requested the central government to supply five trucks of onion a day to deal with the increasing prices and to sell it at the subsidised rate of Rs23.90 per kg through 390 fair price shops and 80 mobile vans.
However, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Manoj Tiwari said the central government was selling onion at Rs22 a kg and some people were trying to “fool the public”.
Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain reviewed the rising onion prices and steps needed for its procurement and distribution at affordable prices at a meeting yesterday.
Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, who is also the chairman of the Price Stabilisation Fund Management Committee (PSFMC) that was set up by the Delhi government to suggest market intervention for checking prices of essential commodities, told the meeting that significant steps had been taken to deal with the situation.
The government has floated a short-term tender for shortlisting transporters for supplying onion from Nafed warehoused to fair price shops and for sale through mobile vans. “The tender is likely to be finalised by October 4,” the government said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Congress targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the increasing prices of petrol, diesel and food items like onions and other vegetables.
Newly-appointed Congress spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee said that onions are being sold at Rs70 per kg and the price of tomatoes has also increased.
The government is doing nothing, she said at a press conference here, and alleged that the money was going to hoarders.
The Congress alleged that because of increased excise duty, the price of petroleum products is rising.