Supreme Court asks centre to file status report: Ban on hazardous pesticides

The Supreme Court in the case Vanashakti Vanashakti And Ors. v. UoI And Ors in the case observed in a plea filed seeking weeding out of harmful chemicals and pesticides which are being used in India causing severe health hazards to farm workers and the people who are living in the vicinity and the consumers. Thus, the court directed the Centre for filing an updated status report in respect of the regulatory measures taken by it for effecting a ban on hazardous pesticides. The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice J.B. Pardiwala asked the Additional Solicitor General, Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee for submitting an updated status report in order to obtain some clarity for the purpose of passing an order, the bench while considering some variance in the submissions made by the Union Government and the petitioner in relation to the banning of hazardous pesticides as being mentioned in the plea. In the present case, the petition filed through Advocate, Prashant Bhushan, wherein seeking enforcement of the right to health of farmers, farm workers as well as consumers by banning 99 harmful pesticides that are used in India but the same have been banned by other countries and at least an additional six more that are used in India and the other countries have withdrawn or restricted them. Therefore, the court also cited the instances of severe environment and health hazards caused by pesticides, particularly in Punjab, Kerala and Maharashtra. Thus, the plea filed refers to studies that have linked pesticides which are being used by the farmers and their suicidal tendencies. Cancer, DNA damage, the damage caused to the brain and nervous system, Parkinson’s Disease, Birth Defects, Immunological changes, and adverse effects on the physical and the mental development of children in farmers and farm workers and their families were indicated as some of the health risks are being associated with use of pesticides. Before the court, an application was filed seeking direction to the Centre for reviewing 85 pesticides, besides the 99 forming the subject matter of the main petition seeking a ban on pesticides with grave health and the environmental hazards. Further, it has been argued in the plea that the 85 pesticides have not even been reviewed by the committee of Anupam Verma which had been set to review the use of 66 pesticides which were being banned in other countries. It has also been prayed in the plea that all pesticides be reviewed and the review committee should include independent health experts who are working on the issue of health impacts of pesticides, state government representatives and also experts from the ecological agriculture field.