Ban on pesticides

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Context: Plea in Supreme Court alleges restriction on reduced number of chemicals to protect companies

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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”.
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.
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.