SC bans Endosulfan sale & use -- ToI – 14.5.11

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a countrywide ban on manufacture, sale and use of the cheap and popular pesticide Endosulfan, citing its toxic effects on humans and the environment.
    Applying precautionary principle to order the eight-week interim ban, the court said right to life was above all other interests and considerations and it could not “take on its head” a single child getting affected by the pesticide during the period when the Centre-appointed expert committee conducted tests to determine Endosulfan’s toxicity.
    A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar took cue from the V S Achuthanandan government’s ban on Endosulfan in Kerala and said the interim countrywide ban on the pesticide would continue till mid-July.
    It asked the expert committee headed by the director-general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to give an interim report to the court in eight weeks after conducting a variety of tests spread out in various states to determine the toxicity of Endosulfan.
    “The interim report will consider whether Endosulfan should be banned and if so, whether the existing stock of pesticide was to be eliminated in phases and also suggest an alternative pesticide for farmers,” the bench said.
    If the committee gave a negative toxic report for Endosulfan, the court would consider lifting of the interim ban, the bench said, adding “till that time a complete ban on Endosulfan shall operate”.
    Solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam, who also acted as amicus curiae in the hearing of petition by Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), presented both sides — that Endosulfan was a cheap pesticide in use for last 60 years and there was no conclusive evidence about its harmful effects, but at the same time cited grave sufferings of children because of excessive use of Endosulfan in Kerala’s Kasargod area. Subramanian said the Union government in April had decided to join the global consensus against use of Endosulfan, but was still mulling whether to take the 11-year exit period or conduct studies before taking a final decision.
    DYFI, through advocate Deepak Prakash, had moved a PIL seeking ban on production and use of Endosulfan, which in India is estimated to be a Rs 500 crore industry.
    Association of manufacturers through senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi questioned the wisdom of the court to intervene in the executive domain. It said there were laws and regulations in place for monitoring use of Endosulfan. The bench criticised the government for paying scant attention to public health and not conducting studies prior to allowing manufacture of such pesticides. It also rejected a plea for allowing manufacturers to continue with export of Endosulfan.
KILLER PESTICIDE
Applying precautionary principle to order the eight-week interim ban, the SC said the right to life was above all other interests and considerations. It asked an expert panel to submit a report on the pesticide use and its effects in eight weeks. It even banned manufacture and export of the chemical during the interim ban.