Mumbai, Nov 15 Amid rising onion prices, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday asked the administration to take stern action against hoarding, especially against the traders who are storing onions beyond the limit.
Shinde's directives come when onion prices in the retail market have increased above Rs 80 per kg, and he sought to intervene to avoid a political backlash which may dent MahaYuti's poll prospects in the November 20 Assembly elections.
The CM's intervention is crucial as the MahaYuti faced anger from the onion growers after the Centre banned onion exports, and that led to the defeat of MahaYuti candidates in several areas of the state.
A MahaYuti minister said that the CM's move is important when common citizens are being hit hard due to increasing onion prices, due to shortages in onions.
"Big and small traders have been given a limit on how much onion they should store. However, at present, it has been observed that some traders are illegally storing onions and thus the prices of onions are increasing. CM has directed the Food and Civil Supply Department to take strict action against the onion traders for hoarding under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Black Market Prevention and Smooth Supply of Essential Commodities Act, 1980," the Chief Minister's Office said in a release.
Further, the Chief Minister has also appealed to the citizens to report any illegal stocking of onions anywhere in the state to the Supply Department or the District Magistrate's office. The state government has decided to give a subsidy of Rs 350 per quintal for onion. The distribution of subsidies is in progress. A provision of Rs 851.67 crore has been made for this this year.
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