In a joint press conference on Tuesday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and one his deputies Ajit Pawar welcomed measures taken by the central government to procure an additional 2 lakh tonne (LMT) of onion from the farmers of Maharashtra. Shinde also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah and Piyush Goyal for providing relief to onion producers by purchasing the 2 LMT of onion. "The NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) has taken a decision to procure an additional 2 lakh tonne of onion. We are getting help from the Centre. It is a new benchmark. As a state chief minister, I thank you again for this decision," said Shinde, asserting that the state government will stand in support of the farmers. He also appealed to the Opposition to "avoid politicising" the issue, while hitting out at National Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, who had criticised the Centre's decision of imposing 50 per cent duty on the export of onion. "Pawar saheb needs to welcome the government's efforts. He was the agricultural minister before, when similar circumstances had arisen. No one should politicise the issue. We need to stand behind the farmers and give suggestions to the state government for their welfare," said Shinde, while addressing the media in Mumbai. Shinde also held a meeting with Ajit and senior officials of the Marketing Department at Sahyadri Guest House, and directed them to take concrete measures on the issue. The CM said that the Centre got requests to reduce the export duty and increase the onion purchase rate. "Onion purchases from NAFED have started in Lasalgaon, Manmad, Alephata, and other places in Nashik district. The Centre has been requested to reduce the export duty, which has shown its willingness to purchase 2 LMT of onion. The onion will be purchased at a rate of Rs 2,410 per quintal. We have requested the Centre to increase this rate, and if there is a need to purchase more than 2 LMT, the Centre would also do that. The state government has requested NAFED to improve and increase the storage system as well," Shinde added. Shinde has also instructed the Marketing Department to increase the cold storage facility for onions to solve the stock issue, while assuring that several recommendations regarding the fall in onion prices are under consideration. "There are some immediate implementation and long-term measures. We are also implementing 'Onion Mahabank', and a committee under the chairmanship of Anil Kakodkar is taking decisions on the same," he said.
