• With prices of tur dal on the rise, the Centre asked all states and UTs to ensure that stockists and traders disclose quantities of tur dal held by them.

• There are reports that some sections of stockists and traders are resorting to restricted sales in an attempt to create artificial scarcity to push the price upward.

• The retail price of tur dal has been on an upward trend from the second week of July, following the slow progress in Kharif sowing as compared to last year.

• The less sowing area is due to excess rainfalls and water logging conditions in parts of major tur dal growing states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

• The Department of Consumer Affairs issued a directive to all the states and UTs to enforce stock disclosure by stockholders of Tur under Section 3(2)(h) and 3(2)(i) of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

• States and UTs have also been told to monitor and verify the stocks. Besides, they have been asked to direct stockholder entities to upload the data of stocks held by them on the department’s online monitoring portal on a weekly basis.

• The Centre is monitoring the prices of pulses closely. Currently, it has 38 lakh tonnes of pulses in buffer stock and the same is being released to boost the domestic supply.  

Essential Commodities Act

• The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 is scheduled in Schedule IX of the Constitution. 

• To achieve regulation of the price, production, supply and distribution, and trade and commerce, in commodities essential to the general public as human beings, is to be ensured statutorily by the central government. 

• To serve this purpose, under Article 246, Entry no. 33 of the Concurrent List of Seventh Schedule, the Parliament passed the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, assented by the President of India on April 1, 1955.

• The Essential Commodities Act controls the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce in, certain goods.

• Under the Act, the powers to implement the provisions of the Act are delegated to the states. When the price of any of these essential commodities rises, the regulator can impose stockholding limits on the commodity, restrict movement of goods and mandate compulsory purchases under the system of levy.

• Consequently, all wholesalers, distributors and retailers dealing in the product must reduce their inventories to comply with the holding limit.

• The purported aim of this Act is to ensure affordability of essential commodities for the poor by restricting hoarding. It is an overarching legislation regulating agricultural marketing and production.

• The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the government to regulate prices, production, supply, distribution, etc of essential commodities for maintaining or increasing their supplies and for securing their equitable distribution and availability at fair prices. 

• Most of the powers under the Act have been delegated by the central government to the state governments with the direction that they shall exercise these powers. 

• Exercising powers under the Act, various ministries/departments of the central government and state governments/UT administrations have issued control orders for regulating production, distribution, pricing, etc and trading of the commodities declared as essential.

• The government of India amended the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 with provisions to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. 

• The amendment provides for the regulation of food items only under exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with a surge in prices. Also, processors and value chain participants are exempted from the stock limit.

• The role of state government is vital to ensure adequate availability of essential commodities at fair prices in the larger public interest. One of the ways in which states/UTs may facilitate achievement of this objective is by holding regular meetings with the traders/dealers of the essential food items to get feedback on price and availability of these items from them (traders/dealers) and impress upon them the need to desist from hoarding, speculative trading, profiteering, unfair and illegal trade practices like cartelling. In this context, all the states/UTs have been requested regularly to hold meetings with stakeholders of essential food items at the state and district levels.

• The Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980 is complementary to the EC Act, 1955. It is being implemented through the state governments/UT administrations for the prevention of illegal and unethical trade practices like hoarding and black-marketing of essential commodities etc. by way of ordering preventive detentions for six months under the Act. The Act empowers the central and state governments to detain persons whose activities are found to be prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of commodities essential to the community in general including targeted groups under PDS. 

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