Next hearing on April 28; SC seeks reasons for the decision from Centre
The central government in May 2020 had proposed banning 27 harmful pesticides identified as health hazards by an expert committee. Photo: iStock A recent notification by the central government going back on its decision to ban 27 pesticides identified as health hazards by an expert committee has been flagged in the Supreme Court of India. A petition has sought a ban on all 27 pesticides, not just three, as proposed by a February 16, 2023 notification.
The central government in May 2020 had proposed banning 27 harmful pesticides identified as health hazards by an expert committee.
However, a draft notification by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare published on February 16 went back on the proposal, claiming just three of the 27 were “fit to be banned”.
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KV Biju, the petitioner and All India Organising Secretary, Swadeshi Andolan, said the move is to protect the pesticide companies. “The government has brought new draft order rather than finalising the draft on the ban on 27 chemicals,” he told Down To Earth.
The list of 27 was carved out of a more extensive set of 66 suggested to be banned to protect the farmers and consumers of the country.
“The list was submitted to the central government, which started the reviewing by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation through an expert committee in August 2013,” Biju said.
The review committee had suggested banning 13 pesticides while passing out another six by 2020. In 2018, it further put 27 pesticides under review for recommended studies.
“The review started in 2013, but instead of taking action, the government keeps reappointing committees, which could be to dilute the essence of the pesticides,” Biju added.
On January 23, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to file an updated status report on the actions taken to regulate the ban on hazardous pesticides.
The central government decision needs to be scrutinised at multiple levels, said Amit Khurana, programme director, Sustainable Food Systems for New Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment.
Read more: Maharashtra consumed the most chemical pesticides in 5 years: Report
“First issue is the time duration taken to take the review decisions. Moreover, the list of hazardous chemicals is shrinking. From 66, it has reduced to 27, and only three have been actually banned,” he said.
We need to know what resulted in the government’s change of heart when farmers and consumers were exposed to these harmful chemicals, Khurana said.
“Science does not evolve such that harmful pesticides may become less toxic over the years. Or does it mean that the judgements made by the experts were poor during the review?” he added.
He said the decision made by the Supreme Court on March 28 is in the right direction. “The reports on the grounds of which the pesticides were banned and others dropped need to come out in the public domain,” Khurana said.
The SC has listed a hearing on the matter on April 28, seeking reasons based on which the Centre’s decision was made.
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