Onion crisis: I-T department ‘surveys’ traders in Maharashtra

In a surprise move, the income tax department carried out surveys at the offices of prominent traders of onions across the state on Friday.

Highly placed sources in the Pune income tax department told DNA that surveys are being conducted at the premises of prominent traders at Nashik, Pune, Mumbai and few other cities of the state.

The exercise comes at a juncture when onion prices have shot up drastically across the country, making the tidings extremely difficult for people. In the Pune market, the vegetable is being sold at about Rs55 per kg.

“There was feedback that some of the prominent onion traders across the state have formed a cartel and are resorting to hoarding to jack up prices of the commodity. And hence, the department decided to carry out the extensive survey across the state,” IT officials said.

It is learnt that the books of accounts of traders are being scrutinised to verify the stock position of the commodity that these traders have at present. Since the survey is still on, IT officials refused to point out whether they had noted any discrepancies.

At Nashik, the survey was carried out at the offices of some traders in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon Baswant, the largest wholesale onion markets in Asia. According to some traders, the IT department officials surveyed the premises of the traders whose business are the largest in the region.
About two IT department officials in two groups conducted surveys checking the stocks, sale, purchase and supply of onion from them. They also reviewed the computer data and accounts of these traders, it is learnt.

Nashik’s guardian minister Chagan Bhujbal, who was in Nashik for the district development and planning committee meeting, said that the shortage of onion was not due to hoarding.

“It is a fact that unseasonal rains have damaged the onion crop and this has led to shortage of supply in the market. The situation is more about demand-supply imbalance,” he said.