Delhi government to sell cheaper onions

NEW DELHI: With onion prices touching Rs 60 per kg in the open market, the Delhi government will start the supply of onions at controlled prices from Monday.

In a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal cleared a proposal by the food and civil supplies department for selling onions at 280 locations across the city at Rs 40 per kg. "This drive will continue till as long as the market remains high. About 15-20 mobile vans will also sell onions. We will see whether we need to increase or decrease the number of fair price shops where we will supply this onion, depending on the demand," said Aasim Ahmed Khan, minister for food and civil supplies.

The department will sell onions in packets of one kg each at fair price shops. "Teams of Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium were stationed at Nashik and were directed to procure and store adequate stocks of onion at hygienic cold stores.

The department was monitoring prices and has now decided to intervene, given the reasonable apprehension of rise in prices of onions because of the hike in wholesale and retail prices in recent days. The department has factored in the time it will take for receiving the stock from Nashik and for making it ready to be sold to the consumers," said an official.