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Journalism of Courage
In the dying moments of Parliament8217;s winter session, the government placed a Bill to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, that originally appeared during WW-I when a widespread shortage of food and essential items caused British rulers to pass an order for controlling production, supply and distribution of essential commodities.
But in a move that defeats the intent of the amendments, the government plans to retain a non-essential category of goods as 8220;essential8221; in a blatant attempt to please the Left8212;raw jute and jute textiles. The Act, which at one time included over 200 commodities including auto parts, cinema reels and battery cells, currently has 15 items. Post-liberalisation, the Act is one of the most severe impediments to free trade, as the demand, supply position in all commodities has altered radically.
In the eastern region, specifically West Bengal, where jute production is concentrated, the sector directly employs about 2.76 lakh workers, supports around 40 lakh farm families and nearly 1.4 lakh people engaged in allied works.
S Majumdar, the Jute Commissioner of India says, 8220;The whole of eastern India depends on jute. It8217;s the only crop that grows apart from rice.8221; However, he believes 8220;jute will survive even without protection,8221; and doesn8217;t need to be part of the Act.
Officials in the Ministry of Food and Public Distribution deny that including jute in the Act is a political ploy. 8220;This is being done to protect farmers8217; interests and consumers. With plastic bags being banned, domestic demand for jute would pick up. Farmers should get a fair price and not get exploited by traders and mill owners, while consumers should be able to buy jute bags at reasonable prices.8221; Even for these reasons, jute8217;s continuation in the Act is bizarre as the government has come out with an unprecedented National Jute Policy in April 2005, aimed at comprehensively developing the sector.
