CHENNAI: Even as 450 tonnes (4.5 lakh kilos) of onions that were sent from Maharashtra to be sold for subsidised rate in Tamil Nadu remained untraced, with the Cooperation Department and Railway officials giving contradictory accounts, the State government cancelled a procurement order with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) over quality concerns.

According to the Cooperation Department, the Tamil Nadu Consumers Cooperative Federation Ltd cancelled an order for 400 metric tonnes of onions on October 31 after inspections revealed that the consignment failed to meet prescribed standards. The order, placed at Rs 29 per kg, stipulated Grade A quality and a minimum diameter of 45 mm. An inspection at the Korukkupet goods terminal found that 20-26% of the onions in sampled bags were rotten, sprouted or fungus-infected, and 50.2% were smaller than the prescribed size.

The department also said its officials had detected rotten and rejected onions mixed with Grade A produce during an inspection in Maharashtra. However, according to sources, NAFED had dispatched 450 tonnes to Chennai without presenting the stock to the State inspection team stationed in Nashik. Interestingly, while Cooperation Department officials maintained that the consignment was rejected and the State had neither accepted nor paid for it, Railway officials have reportedly said the consignment had not been sent back to Maharashtra and had been taken away by TN officials. They also said no onions remained at the goods terminal.

The department maintained that the substandard stock belonged to NAFED and was not part of the onions procured by the Cooperation Department.

Meanwhile, TN has exhausted the 2,380.32 tonnes sold at Rs 35 per kg through ration shops and cooperatives. Sales have been suspended.