CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Consumer Cooperative Federation (TNCCF) of the cooperatives department has cancelled an order placed with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) for the purchase and supply of 400 metric tonnes of onions to the PDS and cooperative outlets after the consignment was found to be substandard.




The order was placed with NAFED, an apex organisation under the Union ministry of agriculture, on Oct 31 at a rate of Rs 29 per kg. The onions were required to conform to ‘A’ grade specifications and have a minimum diameter of 45mm.




A team inspected the consignment at Korukkupet on Oct 31 and found 20% to 26% rotten, sprouted or fungus-affected onions in sample bags. It also found that 50.2% of the onions were below the prescribed minimum size of 45mm. “The substandard onions reportedly lying at the Korukkupet terminal belong to NAFED and are not onions procured by the Cooperatives department,” the govt said.




According to sources, a senior official of the cooperative department, who visited Nashik to inspect the onions prior to dispatch, was not permitted to carry out the quality check of the stock.




The govt had launched a market intervention programme to control onion prices and make the commodity available to consumers at Rs 35/kg through fair-price shops and cooperative outlets. Minister for cooperatives V Gandhiraj launched the scheme in Chennai on Sept 3.




In all three phases so far, the department has procured onions through NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF). Of the total 2,498 metric tonnes procured, 2,380.32 metric tonnes were sold, recording phase-wise sales rates of 97%, 96% and 92%. The department said it would continue procuring and distributing only quality produce to protect consumers and the financial interests of cooperative institutions.