A committee headed by the District Collector has been set up in the district to enforce the State-wide ban on the use of endosulfan. The empowered body has been formed to prevent the use, distribution and storage of the banned pesticide.
To enforce the ban, raids will be conducted in plantations, vehicles and distribution godowns. The raids will be conducted under the supervision of the Principal Agricultural Officer, who is the convenor of the committee, and the Assistant Agricultural Director.
The team will confiscate the banned substance, if found, and action will be initiated against those storing or found to be using the substance under the provisions of the Central Pesticide Act, 1968. Samples of the confiscated pesticides will be sent to the Central Insecticide Laboratory (CIL) at Faridabad, Haryana, for testing.
At the first meeting of the committee held here on Friday, District Collector Mini Antony urged the public to inform the Principal Agriculture Officer if the possession of endosulfan came to their notice.
The other members of the committee include District Superintendent of Police; Sales Tax Commissioner; Assistant Excise Commissioner; Public Prosecutor; Revenue Divisional Officer; District Labour Officer; representatives of Kerala Agricultural University and the Pollution Control Board; Deputy and Assistant Agricultural Directors; and nominees of the Collector, according to an official release.
