Why multiple committees for reviewing pesticide ban, SC asks government

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Context:

The Supreme Court criticised the Union government on July 25 for appointing multiple expert committees to reassess the expert committee recommendations on banning hazardous pesticides in agriculture.

Details:

Pesticide Registration Committee, an apex body that regulates pesticides in India.
Though various committees recommended banning 27 pesticides, only three have been banned from the list.

Committees and their recommendations on pesticide ban:

Anupam Verma Committee in 2015
- Dr. Anupam Verma headed an expert committee that was set-up on July 8, 2013 that reviewed the use of 66b pesticides that were either banned/restricted/withdrawn in one or more countries but continued to be registered in India.
- Dr. Anupam Verma committee submitted its report in 2015 and recommended banning 27 pesticides.
SK Malhotra Committee in 2017, seeking a review on banning 27 pesticides.
- The committee reinstated the need to ban 27 pesticides in 2018.
Again, the Registration Committee in 2018 and S K Khurana Committee in 2020, had recommended the banning of 27 pesticides.
Recently, the Rajindran committee in 2022recommended the banning of three pesticides.

Pesticides:

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has defined pesticide as:
- any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances that may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other pests in or on their bodies.
Examples of pesticides are fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides.
Examples of specific synthetic chemical pesticides are glyphosate, Acephate, Deet, Propoxur, Metaldehyde, Boric Acid, Diazinon, Dursban, DDT, Malathion, etc.

Regulation of pesticides:

The Insecticides Act, 1968 was brought with a view of regulating the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides and pesticides in order to prevent risk to human beings and animals.
Use of insecticides and pesticides increased exponentially after the green revolution.
There are 292 pesticides registered in India.
Pesticides in India are registered with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage.

Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine & Storage (DPPQS):

It is an attached Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
DPPQS was established in 1946 on the recommendation of Woodhead Commission as an apex organisation for advising the Government of India and state governments on all the matters related to Plant Protection.
The Directorate is headed by Plant Protection adviser.
Plant Protection strategy and activities have significant importance in the overall crop production programmes for sustainable agriculture.
- Plant protection activities encompasses activities aimed at:
  minimizing crop losses due to pests through integrated pest management,
- plant quarantine,
- regulation of pesticides,
- locust warning & control and
- training in desert areas besides training and capacity building in plant protection.

Mandate:

To popularize adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) through training and demonstration in crops inter-alia promotion of biological control approaches in crop protection technology.
To ensure availability of safer and effective pesticides through regulatory measures under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
To prevent introduction of exotic pests inimical to Indian agriculture by implementation of Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 supported by Plant Quarantine Order (Regulation of Import into India), 2003.
To advise and assist the union government on all matters including international obligations related to plant protection.
To keep watch and control over locust in scheduled desert area.
Human resource development in plant protection technology.
Monitoring pesticides’ residues at national level.