Power to control production, processing, supply, distribution, transport and prices of essential articles

(1) The State Government, so far as it appears to them to be necessary or expedient for maintaining, increasing or securing supplies of essential articles or for arranging for their equitable distribution and availability at fair prices or for directing, maintaining, or increasing the production of any essential article, may, by notified order, provide for regulating or prohibiting the production, supply, distribution and transport of essential articles and trade and commerce therein. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), any order made thereunder may provide- (a) for regulating by licences, permits or otherwise the production or manufacture of any essential articles ; (b) for controlling the prices at which my essential article may be bought or sold ; (c) for prohibiting or regulating by licences permits or otherwise the storage, distribution, transport, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of any essential article ; (d) for prohibiting the withholding from sale of any essential article ordinarily kept for sale ; (e) for requiring any person holding stocks of an essential article to sell them at fair prices to specified persons or class of persons or in specified circumstances; (f) for regulating or prohibiting any class of commercial or financial transactions relating to any essential article, which in the opinion of the State Government are, or if unregulated, are likely to be detrimental to the public interest; (g) for collecting any information or statistics with a view to regulating or prohibiting any of the aforesaid matters ; (h) for requiring persons engaged in the production, supply or distribution of or trade or commerce in any essential articles to declare their stocks of essential articles, to maintain and allow inspection of or produce for inspection any books, account and records relating to their business and to furnish any other information relating thereto ; (i) for regulating the processing of my essential article ; (j) for exercising over the whole or any part of an existing undertaking such functions of control and subject to such conditions, as may be specified in the order ; (k) for any incidental and supplementary matters including in particular the entering and search of premises, vehicles, vessels and aircraft, the seizure by a person authorised to make such search of any article in respect of which such person has reason to believe that a contravention of the order has been, is being or is about to be committed, the grant or issue of licences, permits or other documents, and the charging of fees therefor.