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SC notice to Centre on use of pesticides

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI April 21. The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Central Government on a public-interest litigation petition seeking a ban on the use of pesticides and insecticides on vegetables, fruits and other food items.

A similar ban exists in many countries. A Bench, comprising the Chief Justice, V.N. Khare, and Justice S.B. Sinha, issued a notice on a petition from Srishti, a non-governmental organisation, working in the area of toxics and their effect on environment and human health.

Expressing serious concern over the alarming levels of pesticide contamination of food items such as wheat, milk, fish, tea, edible oil, vegetables, fruits etc., the petitioner said such unchecked levels had disastrous consequences.

It brought to the notice of the court several studies which had highlighted that residues of pesticides and insecticides were found in human blood and mother's milk, which would have a hazardous impact on the present and the future generations.

The petitioner said 36 pesticides and insecticides, banned in developed countries, were still in use in India.

It was reported in January 2002 that due to pesticide poisoning, over 500 people had died in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh.

Pesticide contamination was found even in water and soil, resulting in severe health hazards, and the issue had to be addressed on an urgent basis, and the NGO sought the court's immediate intervention.

The petitioner sought a directive to prescribe the maximum residue levels of registered pesticides in conformity with the international standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission established in 1962 and the setting up of an expert body for prevention, control and monitoring in the area of toxics and their effect on environment and human health.

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