Hon.
Speaker Sir, I rise to speak in favour of the Statutory Resolution that I have
given opposing the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance. Black-marketing
and hoarding were always a problem in the country ever since the
Second World War. India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
had said that black-marketeers will be hanged from the nearest lamp post.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Black-marketing went on. So, ultimately the
country adopted an Essential Commodities Act in 1955. The Essential
Commodities Act gave power to the State Government to regulate the trade
including imposing stock limits for various intermediaries. Even now, though
the country is surplus in most food grains, it cannot be denied that
there is hoarding and black-marketing taking120 advantage of seasonal shortages or floods or
droughts. Now the Government wants to take away the powers of the State140 Government to regulate, and the power to
fix stock limits is being taken away. If we look at the Essential160 Commodities Act, what are the essential
commodities? Essential commodities are fertilizers, drugs, foodstuffs,
yarn, petroleum, raw jute, seeds of food-crops and seeds of cattle
fodder, etc. So far, the position was that this will be regulated.
Commodities such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils,
onions and potatoes will be regulated. Now, what does this Ordinance do that it
has been brought in a hurry? I do not understand what was the
hurry in bringing the Ordinance. There is a provision to240 deregulate commodities such as cereals,
pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions and potatoes. The only addition is, now
the Government has specifically said that under extraordinary circumstances
which include extraordinary price rise, war, famine, natural calamity of a
severe nature, it280
can be regulated. But, otherwise, all these items will be
deregulated. I know that this Ordinance leaves out the Public Distribution
System and the Targeted Public Distribution System where under these systems
food grains are distributed by the Government to320 the eligible persons at subsidised
prices. So, what is the benefit the Government seeks to get from this? I say
that there is no benefit. Now, the Government has also said that
there will be no control on the stocks360
of food items which have been processed. The stock limit shall not apply
to a processor or value chain participant of any agricultural produce if the
stock limit does not exceed the overall ceiling of installed capacity of
processing, or the demand for export in case of an exporter. So, this is
also left out of this control of stock420
limit. Now, does the Government feel that there is no longer any
possibility of shortage because we are an exporter? Sir, you have seen
the pictures and sights of immigrants scrapping for a morsel of food during the
COVID-19 crisis. How did they scrap for a morsel of food? Now, the Government
may say that the ED Act was not480
effective because the conviction rate under ED Act was abysmal. It was 3.8 per
cent. So, if the Government has set up an effective food framework to ensure
speedy trial and disposal of violation cases, I could have understood. But
we know that even after Mr. Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, there was the
pulses scam that involved the manipulation of prices in 2015 and the investigation
by the Income Tax Department found several big multinational companies
playing a major560 role in
spiking the prices of pulses. So, it has happened during Narendra Modi’s
Government itself. Sir, we have to remember that India is still
dependent on the monsoon for producing sufficient food grains. A majority of
farm holding in600 India is small
and marginal. That is why, an Essential Commodities Act must still be in
place and all regulations must not be given up and opened to the market.
Recently, there is a scare of locust attack in Rajasthan.640 The locust attack destroys all crops.
What happens if some States have locust attacks? Will you not control
the stocks at that time? The El Nino phenomenon has hit the
Indian agriculture hard in the past. Sir, given the timing of this Ordinance, it
is likely to benefit big traders, big corporates and MNCs but not the
farmers directly.700 I want to
say that the three farmer-related Ordinances that were brought forward
by this Modi Government are all meant to720
help the private sector, the multinationals, the big capitalists into food grains
trade. Sir, Reliance is already selling vegetables through Reliance Fresh. I
anticipate that Adani will soon enter the field and these three ordinances will
actually help the big capitalists to enter into the farmers’ markets. I will
speak on the other Ordinance later. Sir, our policies must ensure
sustainable farm growth taking into consideration factors like climate change,
landholdings, consumer capacity and the farmers’ interests. Sir, I had800 mentioned yesterday that this Act
is another example of quasi-federalism on display. Earlier, the States
used to control the Essential Commodities Act. Every State had an enforcement
branch which implemented the Essential Commodities Act. That power is being
taken away. 840 We are happy
that the farmer produces enough for our needs and even for exporting food grains.
But that does not mean a calamity cannot hit us. A calamity like the COVID-19
has hit us and we know the condition of the economy with a 24 per cent
downslide in the economy. That is why, I am totally opposed to the
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance. I think this is an effort
to give benefit to big traders, corporates and MNCs so that they can enter the
food trade. The poor farmer will be left in the lurch through all this.
Hon. chairperson Sir, I oppose the
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Sir, the original Essential
Commodities Act was enacted in960
1955. The object was stated in the preamble. Its object was an Act to provide
in the interests of the980
general public for the control in certain commodities. One of the prime
objectives of the Act is to regulate the production, supply, and pricing of the
essential commodities to ensure availability of the essential commodities at
fair prices. The aim of the Act was curbing the hoarding, black-marketing and
profiteering in such commodities. The object is to deter a person from dealing
in an essential commodity and consequently impose a deterrent penalty against
him. If you read the amendments which have been sought for, this will be
established. As it appears from the speech of the earlier speaker, the cat1080 is out of the bag. Now, the objective
of curbing, hoarding, black-marketing, and profiteering in such commodities is
going to be taken away. That has to be stopped. All are aimed at the
purpose of handling by big businessmen. 1120
With regard to Section 3, the amendment which has been sought in respect of
that, I will say that deregulating such agricultural foodstuffs from the list
of essential commodities will lead to every chance of hoarding and thereby
resulting in price rise in retail, and ultimately leading to the excessive
financial burden on the common people. Moreover, as per the amendment, even in
extraordinary circumstances, only the Central Government can choose to exercise
regulation. Such legislative ambiguity1200
leads to the question of the entire exercise of introducing a particular
provision. If you read the words in the amendment itself, you will find that these
are extremely vague. Therefore, unbridled power has been sought to be given by
this amendment. Sir, the amendment exempts the processor of value chain
participants of agriculture produce from the regulation of1260 the stock limit. If the stock limit of
such a person does not exceed the overall ceiling of installed capacity1280 of processing or the demand for export
in case of an exporter, such exemptions in terms of removal of stock limit to
exporters and traders and value chain participants may not benefit farmers.
Instead, it appears to have been done to benefit certain vested giants in
this sector. Sir, it is our common experience. Had it been only for the
benefit of farmers, I would not have objected to it. But now because of
the amendments, the middlemen will come and take away the benefits. Now, the
Government is regulating it. The Government is purchasing from the farmers so
that the farmers get the fair price and, at the same time, the customers also
get it at the fair price. 1400
Now, who will be benefited? The benefits will go in favour of the
middlemen. They will hoard it. They will do black-marketing. If this
legislation is implemented, the consumer will have to purchase essential
commodities at higher prices. 1440
During COVID-19, these are the extremely bad days. You are taking away
the power of the State Governments. That is why this is hitting the cooperative
federalism in the country. My honourable friend said that the investors
will come to the farmers. That is right, but who are the investors? The
Railways will go to the big investors, telecommunication will go to the big
investors and agricultural products will go to the big investors. I do not
know why this privatization is taking place? Why are so many Ministers
required when everything is getting privatized? This Act will be passed by the
Central Government but on the ground, the State Government officers will work. We
will not see any Central Government officer there. Nobody is there to stop this
black-marketing. Everyone has to work for the benefit of the common people. If
this legislation is made, the farmer will suffer. The farmer is getting a
chance to enter into the1600
market through the State Governments. There are warehouses for farmers, but if
big industrial houses step in, prices will fall and farmers will be suffering
losses.
