The Hindu : Front Page : Subsidised tomatoes for Delhi from today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 24, 2006

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Subsidised tomatoes for Delhi from today

Staff Reporter

At Rs. 20 per kg from Government kiosks in vegetable markets across the Capital

PRIZE STUFF: The scene at the Keshavpur wholesale vegetable market in Delhi on Friday, when tomatoes were selling at Rs.150 for 5 kg. — PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government has decided to make tomatoes available at a subsidised rate of Rs.20 per kg from Saturday at its kiosks in Azadpur, Okhla, Ghazipur and Keshavpur markets across the Capital.

The decision was announced by State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Rajkumar Chauhan on Friday after he reviewed the situation arising out of shortages in the arrival of tomatoes in the city at a meeting with senior officials of his ministry and the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee.

Mr. Chauhan said tomato prices had firmed up with the supplies to the wholesale markets having dipped to 209 tonnes per day by Friday. This, he said, was far less than the average tomato supplies received here. He hoped that the prices would fall now as the supplies improve.

The Minister said all-out efforts were being made to prevent hoarding by traders. "The Enforcement Wing of the Department has been instructed to conduct visits to all vegetable wholesale markets across the city to prevent hoarding."

The Government decision to sell tomatoes through its kiosks came on a day when citizens' rights group People's Action wrote to Mr. Chauhan demanding to know "why the Government had not initiated any action despite the prices of vegetables having risen 10 times in the past 40 days".

In the letter, the group wrote that the State Civil Supplies Department had declared the wholesale rates of tomatoes at Azadpur Mandi at Rs 2.50 to Rs 4 on May 9 whereas now they were selling for Rs. 25 to Rs 30 per kg. in wholesale markets across Delhi and consequently the retail price had shot up to Rs. 45 per kg.

People's Action coordinator Pankaj Gupta charged that the Government was almost defunct and did not have any explanation for what was going on. He said the rise in prices should have been noted by it in time and corrective action initiated instantly.

The group charged that while in the case of mutton the price that went up not long ago in the wake of the bird-flu scare had still not returned to its original levels due to manipulation by traders, in the case of vegetables and pulses the Government had done simply nothing to check the rise in prices.

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