The proposal holds significance given that the EC Act arms the government with powers to impose stock limits and movement restrictions on agricultural commodities.
New Delhi: Arguing that the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, was framed during the era of food scarcity, the NITI Aayog has proposed that the Act be scrapped because it is an “impediment in the free movement of commodities” given that the country is now self-sufficient in most. The move, part of a plan for structural reform in agriculture, is up for discussion at the state Chief Ministers’ gathering Saturday for the meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Whether Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and Prevention of Black-marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities (PBMSEC) Act, 1980 be scrapped altogether and replaced with a modern statute balancing the interests of farmers, consumers and supply chain participants?” is one of the items top on the agenda circulated to CMs, sources said.
Alternatively, the proposal has suggested classifying commodities under the EC Act into two categories: Priority One — drugs, petroleum/petroleum products, and fertilizers; and Priority Two — foodstuffs and seeds of agricultural produce. The first category would continue to witness some controls, the second should be “decontrolled” with a caveat that controls “may” be imposed in “exceptional circumstances” like war, severe natural calamities or steep fall in production (over 10 per cent dip in a year) or sharp rise in prices (100 per cent or more over previous year).
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