Soaring onion prices: Cabinet Secretary reviews situation with state chief secretaries

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Monday chaired a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries to review the issue of rising prices of onions across the country. In a video conference held with the Chief Secretaries of the 11 major onion producing states, the Gauba was briefed about the various steps being taken by the States to tackle the rising prices of onions. Chief Secretaries from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana participated in the video conference.

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String of directives

During the meeting, Rajiv Gauba directed the states to ensure a spike in the overall availability of onions to stabilise prices on the back of a temporary shortage of the vegetable. The Centre has already taken a decision on not allowing the export of onions during the current season. States were further told to maintain considerable buffer stocks, impose stock limits on traders and to ensure strict action against hoarding. The Cabinet Secretary also directed the states to utilise their Food and Civil Supply Departments to procure and distribute onions at reasonable prices.

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Imported onions on the way

Rajiv Gauba informed that the Union government has approved the import of 11,000 metric tonnes of onions from November 29 to tide over the situation. The deliveries are expected from the last week of December, 2019. This is in addition to the decision of the government to import 6,090 metric tonnes of onions from Egypt on November 22. The deliveries are expected from the second week of December. Union Consumer Affairs Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary, Food & Public Distribution Secretary along with other senior officials of the Government of India also attended the meeting. 

READ | Centre To Import Over 17K MT Onion From Turkey & Egypt To Control Price Rise

Delhi seeks Centre's help

Earlier on November 28, Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain had written to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan requesting him to direct the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to continue supplying onions at Rs 15.60 per kilogram in the national capital in the larger public interest. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Monday wrote to Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan demanding an explanation on the "unexplained and unjustified" skyrocketing of onion prices. Delhi's deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia claimed that the central government had on September 5 said it had 56,000 metric tonne onion "but surprisingly the central government has stopped giving it to Delhi government".

Watch: Bhubaneshwar Congress Cadre Protest Against Soaring Onion Prices