Hyderabad: Marketing minister T. Harish Rao said the Telangana state government will continue to supply onions for subsidised prices through Rythu Bazaars till the retail prices subside.
He said the government had supplied 15 lakh kg of onions through Rythu Bazaars at Rs 20 per kg from the beginning of this month. Nearly 7.5 lakh households had purchased subsidised onions from 89 centres. More centres would be set up if needed, he said.
“The subidised onions scheme has already imposed a burden of Rs 3.5 crore on the government. Despite this, the government is committed to continue the scheme till the retail prices reach normal levels. There is no question of withdrawing this scheme,” Mr Harish Rao told reporters here on Sunday.
Mr Rao held a review meeting with marketing officials from districts to take stock of onion prices. It was decided to send officials to major onion markets at Nasik in Maharashtra, Kurnool in AP and to Karnataka to procure onions to meet the demand in the state. He said onion stocks were depleting even in major markets, making it difficult for the government to procure stocks.
Referring to complaints of middlemen purchasing subsidised onions from Rythu Bazaars and selling it at higher prices in the retail market, he said, “For that reason, we are insisting on ration cards or Aadhaar cards at sale counters. This is to ensure that subsidised onions reach only the genuine consumers and not middlemen.”
