Toxic differences over pesticides

Ahead of the Supreme Court (SC) hearing scheduled for April 28 on the controversy over a ban on 27 pesticides, a section of industry has questioned the basis on which monocrotophos, considered one of the most harmful pesticides for human health, has been included in the list of 24 on which a ban was lifted by a draft order issued in February 2023.

But civil society representatives are questioning the draft on a very different ground. They are arguing that the move to dilute the original ban order on all 27 pesticides is wrong and overlooks several key factors.

The SC sought the Centre’s reply in four weeks (from March 27, 2023) explaining the basis on which the original ban order was reversed and also placed on record the reports of the committee formed to review the ban.

The controversy dates back to a May 2020 order of the government banning the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of 27 pesticides that were considered harmful to public health and safety.

These 27 pesticides were widely used as part of the 66 contentious pesticides that were being reviewed by various bodies over the past several years for their toxicity. Some reports said the banned pesticides included 12 insecticides, eight fungicides and seven herbicides, comprising almost 130 formulations.

Although the government reportedly gave the industry time to record their objections, the issue was not resolved. At the request of several major industry bodies, a panel was formed under the chairmanship of T P Rajendran, former assistant director general of Indian Council of Agriculture Research and a well-known expert in the field. Though the results of this committee’s findings were not made public, reports suggested that it had recommended retaining the ban on three of the 27 pesticides and freeing the remaining ones.
There is some confusion on the contents of the findings and terms of reference of the committee itself.