In a recent order, the Supreme Court ofIndia directed the Union government to set up within two months a committee to decide on tri-monthly steps to either ban or restrict use of insecticides and chemical food additives which are hazardous to human health. The court observed that though some steps had been taken to either ban or allow restrictive use of insecticides, there had been no sustained effort to gather information about the adverse effects of pesticides and other chemicals. The court also said that the Insecticide Act, 1968, should be amended to allow the government to cancel the registration ofmanufacturers using insecticides in their products.
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