Implement Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act in letter & spirit: Standing Committee on Food tells Centre

A Parliamentary Panel has asked the govt to implement in “letter and spirit” the Vital Commodities (Modification) Act — just one of the regulations from which farmers are protesting at Delhi borders for much more than 100 times now.

This panel also has users from opposition parties like Congress, TMC and AAP. These parties have been demanding repeal of all three farm regulations enacted by the Centre just lately.

In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha on March 19, the Standing Committee on Food stuff chaired by TMC chief Sudip Bandyopadhyay recommended the govt to “implement the Vital Commodities (Modification) Act, 2020 in letter and spirit, and without allow or hindrances so that the farmers and other stakeholders of farming sector in this region acquire the rewards meant below the mentioned Act”.

It mentioned while the region has come to be surplus in most agri-commodities, farmers have been not able to get better price ranges due to lack of financial investment in cold storage, warehouses, processing and export as business owners get discouraged by the regulatory mechanisms in the Vital Commodities Act, 1955.

“This has resulted in farmers suffering huge losses when there are bumper harvests, especially of perishable commodities, considerably of which could have been reduced with ample processing amenities,” the panel mentioned.

The panel also observed that even the Significant Driven Committee for Transformation of Indian Agriculture had recommended that there was a need to develop an surroundings-based mostly on simplicity of executing company and for getting rid of the panic of frequent statutory controls below the Vital Commodities Act in get to strengthen speedy financial investment in agriculture sector, raise competitiveness and improve farmers’ money.

“The Committee hope(s) and anticipate(s) that the just lately enacted ‘Essential Commodities (Modification) Act, 2020′, which was aimed at addressing the difficulty, will come to be a catalyst for unlocking broad untapped means in the agriculture sector by producing an surroundings for enhanced investments in agriculture sector, honest and productive competitiveness in agricultural internet marketing and raise farmers’ money,” the report included.

‘Keep a shut eye on price ranges of essential commodities’

Further more, the panel asked the govt to continue to keep a shut view on price ranges of essential commodities and consider remedial steps due to the fact commodities this kind of as potato, onions and pulses are element of a frequent man’s day-to-day food plan and that lakhs of people today who do not get the rewards of Public Distribution Program (PDS) and may well suffer adversely in the aftermath of the implementation of the new Act.

Aside from, the committee also asked the govt to contemplate inclusion of much more consumables in the checklist of essential commodities, notably individuals which immediately impact the overall health of all buyers and are handy for village and town dwellers, and subsidise these products and solutions.

Hundreds of farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and components of Uttar Pradesh, are tenting at Delhi borders in search of repeal of the three farm regulations for final 114 times.

So far, eleven rounds of talks amongst the govt and protesting farm unions have failed to yield any consequence while the govt has supplied to suspend implementation of these regulations for 18 months.

In the meantime, a Supreme Court appointed panel is analyzing the subject and predicted to submit a report in this regard shortly.