Probe NAFED's onion purchase not benefiting Delhi: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday demanded a probe into NAFED excluding the national capital from the list of cities that benefited from the supply of onions at reasonable prices.

Cooperative body NAFED undertakes the purchase, sale and supply of agricultural products.

In a press conference, the party pointed out that NAFED had claimed to have procured 2,500 tonnes of onions, using the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), stored in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon, when prices were low.

"It also claimed that these onions were to be supplied to eight cities - Patna, Ranchi, Kolkata, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Chennai and Hyderabad," said AAP spokesperson Ashutosh.

"It is shocking that the national capital did not figure in the NAFED list of cities which were to benefit from this onion supply scheme at reasonable prices," he added.

The party demanded a probe into who took the decision to exclude Delhi from this benefit.

"The central government is not able to handle the onion crisis properly. Where are the onions procured by NAFED and how was the fund given to it utilized?" Ashutosh said.

"The central government should immediately order a probe into the functioning of NAFED for irregularities committed by it in the procurement of onions and misuse of the Price Stabilisation Fund, leading to a nationwide onion prices crisis," he added.

The party also demanded that the union agriculture ministry should seek an explanation from NAFED about the onion stock it had claimed to have procured at Nasik when the prices were low.

"The union agriculture ministry should immediately step in and ensure that NAFED releases onions procured by it into the market to bring down the prices of onions," he added.

The Delhi government on Sunday published the names of 280 Fair Price Shops in the capital where onions would be sold at subsidised rates. It has been selling onions for Rs.30 per kilogramme after the vegetable's price started shooting up.