‘Essential Commodities Act only for emergencies’

Mumbai: The Essential Commodities Act should be invoked only when the prices of produce rise above 50 per cent, the Niti Aayog suggested on Friday.

The suggestion came during the second meeting of the high powered committee (HPC) of chief ministers for transformation of Indian agriculture in Mumbai.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who chaired the committee, said the Act would only be applied in extreme situations like famine and war. The Essential Commodities Act deals with the stock limit and hoarding of goods.

Addressing at press conference at Sahyadri Guest House, the chief minister said, “Broad consensus has been reached over the Essential Commodities Act. We won’t repeal the whole Act. The provisions related to agriculture, which affects the prices of produce, should remain in force,” he added.

The Committee also discussed various recommendations for APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, Contract Farming Act, and Genetically Modified (GM) crops.

Moreover, the committee has asked all states to give their opinion on the use of GM seeds for edible oils, as the country imports 65 per cent of its edible oil requirements.

Mr Fadnavis added the government is looking at new technology for oil seeds due to low productivity in the country.

“We would try to gather the intelligence from global markets in order to control the fluctuation in the market. We believe that the farmers should get appropriate prices of his produce,” the chief minister said.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Uttar Pradesh agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi, and Orissa agriculture minister Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo were also present in the high-profile
meeting.