WITH the government ban on the manufacture and use of benzene hexachloride(BHC) coming into effect in India fromApril 1, vector control and pest controloperations in agriculture have beenforced to look for safer alternatives.
BHC is a highly toxic, non-specificorganochlorine insecticide used mostlyfor a wide variety of agricultural applications. It was introduced into thenational malaria eradication programme (NMFP) in 1959. One of thealternatives to BHC, synthetic pyrethroids, are being used in limited quantities since 1995-96. NMEP officials saythat the ban is prompting them to testnewer pesticides like synthetic pyrethroids and tryout alternative combinations of existing pesticides on field.Much now rests on a case scheduled tocome up in the Supreme Court (SC) inthe last week of April (at the time ofgoing to press), to decide whether theban is to be upheld or not.
According to Pesticides Associationof India (PAI) estimates, BHC accountsfor about 40 per cent of the total pesticide used in the country. PAI officialsadd that a complete ban on the manufacture and use of BHC, could lead to asubstantial increase in costs, as its alternatives are more expensive than BHC.Environmentalists and health activistshave welcomed the government ban.According to Sanjay Sengupta ofVoluntary Health Association of India,"Though the decision of banning BHC'smanufacture and use may not makemuch economic sense, but it is anenvironmentally sound decision."BHC is an organochlorine which canremain in water or soil for years andget into the ecosystem (Down To Earth,Vol 5, No 13).
However, PAI still hopes to continuewith BHC in some parts of India. "Its usein vector control will, however, be permitted in the north-eastern states and inthose pockets of the country where'kala-azar' (leishmaniasis) is prevalent"says S C Mathur, executive director ofthe PAI. It is still not clear whether theBHC used in these pockets is to beimported or manufactured by any specific Indian pesticide manufacturer.The ministry of agriculture hadissued a notification in the 'Gazette ofIndia: Extraordinary', on January 1,1996, declaring the intended ban onBHC. They had taken this decisionexercising powers under the relevantsection of the Insecticides Act, 1968.They had invited objections or suggestions therein. In the ensuing period,Kanoria Chemicals Ltd, New Delhi, hadfiled a case in the SC, seeking review ofthe notification.
"This is an arbitrary decision, takenwithout following set procedures. A registration committee, comprising ofexperts from the health ministry, agriculture ministry and the environmentministry reviews such plans. In thisdecision, the committee was by-passedin violation of the Insecticides Act," saysC S Moondra of Kanoria Chemicals.
While malaria control experts statethat the ban over BHC may riot have alarge impact on mosquito eradicationprogrammes, they fail to explain how, asthey do not have readily or cheaplyavailable alternatives. BHC has been thesecond-most important ingredient inthe NMEP over the past decade.
Says V P Sharma, director of theMalaria Research Centre, Delhi: "BHC, aresidual pesticide, is not very safe. Itstermination should not pose a problemif there is enough money for alternatives-" NMEP Officials say that states hadalready been informed about the banthat was to come. As for an alternative,"it is not a simple matter," says NMEPdeputy director R L Yadav. "Technical,financial and departmental matters areinvolved" he says. However, he isoptimistic that there are enoughalternatives in the anvil for NMEP, referring to synthetic pyrethorids andbiopesticides.