Delhi govt to sell onion at Rs 23.90 per kg from Saturday

New Delhi: In a bid to provide relief to people after prices of onion have skyrocketed, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the government will start selling onion at Rs 23.90 per kilogram through ration shops and mobile vans in the national capital from Saturday.

"The rates of onion have increased. It is being sold at Rs 60-80 per kilogram in the national capital. Our government will start selling onion from Saturday at Rs 23.90 per kilogram," Chief Minister Kejriwal told reporters.

"One person can get a maximum of 5-kg onion for their family. We have identified 400 ration shops and 70 mobile vans to sell onion. One mobile van will cover an Assembly area," added Kejriwal.

The Chief Minister said Delhi government will procure one lakh kilograms of onion from the Centre. "Onion is consumed less during Navratri. We are procuring this for first five days. We will do the analysis from time to time. The government will sell onion until its rates are not stabilized," he said.

Kejriwal said that two officials are being sent to Nashik in Maharashtra to check the quality of onion. He also assured that action would be taken against those who were found to be involved in black marketing of onion.

Earlier, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that other state governments which want to buy onion from the Centre can send their requirements and said that their demand for any quantity would be fulfilled immediately.

The average retail price of onions has risen sharply in the last a few weeks as a seasonal shortage worsened following flooding in several onion-growing states prompting states and the Central government to ramp up supply from the government-held stocks.