The Supreme Court's temporary order banning endosulfan production may well be the last nail on this controversial pesticide. After 40 years of controversial existence in India, endosulfan, the chemical pesticide, may finally make an exit soon.

The court ordered a complete ban on production, sale and use of the controversial pesticide for eight weeks holding that human life is more important than anything else and “we don't want a single child to suffer“.

The court's interim order came on a petition seeking a ban on endosulfan on the ground that it was causing health hazards including genetic disorders in Kerala where it is widely used.

A ban in India could mean a blow to the controversial pesticide as India's share in global endosulfan market is over 70 per cent. The third largest selling generic insecticide globally has a market of 40 million litres worth Rs 1,350 crore. India consumes 12 million litres valued at Rs 270 crore.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) the order banning the use, sale, production and export of endosulfan with immediate effect.

Terming it landmark judgment, Ms Sunita Naraian, Director-General of CSE, said it was a resounding victory against the pesticide industry.

Still a favourite pesticide for lakhs of farmers, particularly in States such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, endosulfan for long has been a target of civil society organisations.

“Endosulfan is a known endocrine disruptor and neurotoxic and has led to serious health concerns in Kasaragod district in Kerala and the adjoining Dakshin Kannada district in Karnataka. Over 20 years of aerial spraying on cashew plantations in these States has left many with mental and physical disorders,” she alleged.

Some farmers' associations, however, were upset. “This is unfortunate. This reflects insensitivity of the judiciary to the problems of small farmers. We will see if we can appeal against the judgment,” said Mr P Chengal Reddy, Secretary-General of Confederation of Indian Farmers' Associations (CIFA).

The Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulations Association of India (PMFAI) had been consistently denying allegations of the chemical causing health hazards and cited several expert committees reports that discounted criticisms against endosulfan.

The O.P. Dubey committee and the C.D. Mayee committee both had given a clean chit to endosulfan and the Government accepted those reports too. Environmental activists cried foul and flayed the reports for manipulated and distorted views.

Mr Chandra Bhushan, Deputy-Director General of CSE, told Business Line that it was myth to believe that there was no alternative to endosulfan and that farmers would suffer in the wake of the ban. “It is not indispensable. The fact that 2.5 million hectares of crop is sown without it and through non-pesticide management shows that there is life sans endosulfan,” he said.

India, which had been importing endosulfan till the 1980s, began manufacturing the chemical and emerged a major producer. It was mostly used in cotton, pulses, tea, mango, vegetables and oilseeds.

Movements demanding ban of endosulfan caught momentum after Kerala farmers reported harmful effects in the recent past. After resisting for long, India had recently agreed at a Stockholm Convention meeting in Geneva to phase-out the chemical in 11 years, bowing to global pressure.

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