Delhi Food and Supplies Minister Imraan Hussain organised teams and directed them to gather information about instances of hoarding and black marketing of tomatoes so that the concerned departments could initiate legal action against the offenders.
The government, on Friday, reviewed the situation arising out of the increase in the retail prices of tomatoes in the Capital, and what measures could be taken to curb it.
Delhi Food and Supplies Minister Imraan Hussain organised teams and directed them to gather information about instances of hoarding and black marketing of tomatoes so that the concerned departments could initiate legal action against the offenders.
The Food and Civil Supplies Department has been entrusted with the responsibility of checking the availability and prices of various food items in Delhi. The department has constituted a Market Intelligence Unit (MIU) which regularly reviews the availability and fluctuations in the prices of various food commodities in Delhi.
The information is then gathered during the process is shared with concerned Departments of Delhi Government for necessary action.
The minister said that the exercise of collecting information from the market should be carried out during the weekends as well. He also asked the department to keep strict vigil on the availability and movement of prices of tomato and other seasonal vegetables as well as other food items.
Meanwhile, wholesalers in the Azadpur Mandi claim to have been buying tomatoes for Rs 40-50 per kilogram which is then being sold for a minimum of Rs 70. Most of the crop reaching the vegetable market comes from Haryana, with Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh also contributing to the product. According to people in the trade, the rains, in the past 10 days, have triggered the steep price rise of tomatoes.
The prices of other vegetables like capsicum, carrot, and peas, and fruits like mangoes too have increased sharply. The retail price of capsicum is Rs 120 per kilogram, while wholesale it is available at Rs 90 per kg.
Carrot and peas are being sold at Rs 60 and 120 per kilogram respectively in the retail market. Ginger is priced at Rs 80 for a kilogram in the wholesale market while mangoes are for Rs 70.
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