The Supreme Court on Friday banned the production, sale and use of pesticide Endosulfan in the country, holding that human life is more important than anything else.
“Keeping in mind various judgments of this court under Article 21 (Right to life and liberty) of the Constitution and particularly the precautionary principle, we, hereby, direct and pass ad-interim order for immediate ban on production and use of Endosulfan all over India,? a bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia said.
The bench also directed the statutory authorities to freeze the production licences granted to the manufacturers of the controversial pesticide till further orders.
The apex court accepted solicitor-general and amicus curie Gopal Subramanium’s suggestion that a joint committee should be set up to do a detailed study on all India basis and should submit a report within eight weeks from now. The expert panel will be an amalgamation of two different committees. One committee under the chairmanship of the director general Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) will study the adverse effects of Endosulfan on human life and environment and the other panel headed by the agricultural commissioner will submit its interim report on whether the pesticide should be banned, if so, then existing stock could be eliminated in phases. The latter one will also study if there is any alternative to the pesticide.
During the hearing, the bench said that human life is more important than anything else.
Meanwhile, Sunita Narain, director-general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said in a statement that “despite this evidence which proves the toxicity of the pesticide, the government had ? all this while ? chosen to consistently deny and prevaricate in support of the industry.?
A 2001 study by CSE had established the linkage between the aerial spraying of the pesticide and growing health disorders in Kasargod, Kerala, she said, adding that the Friday’s order comes on the heels of India?s grudging acceptance at the Stockholm Convention that endosulfan is a serious health hazard and that it should be banned.
The court passed its order on petition filed by CPIM’s youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) seeking country-wide ban on sale and production of Endosulfan in its present form or any other derivatives in the market.
DYFI had contended in its petition that a large section of people was directly affected because of the use of Endosulfan, already banned in 81 countries.
It said that several studies had documented that the pesticide could also affect human development. It gave example of serious health hazards caused in Kerala’s Kasaragod district.