New Delhi: The Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) on Friday welcomed India`s changed position on
Endosulfan at the Stockholm Convention but attacked the
Environment Ministry accusing it of having been supportive of
the pesticide industry`s opposition to a ban on it.
"The final day of the fifth Stockholm Convention held
in Geneva to decide the fate of Endosulfan, a persistent
organic pollutant, saw a different Indian position," said a
CSE official.
"India, which has single handedly blocked the ban on
this globally accepted toxin, agreed to the inclusion of
Endosulfan in Annex A, a listing of globally banned pesticide
under the UN`s Stockholm Convention - without any opposition,"
the official said.
Welcoming the shift in the Indian government`s
position, the CSE said the pesticide has caused "enormous
human suffering" in Kerala and Karnataka where it has been
sprayed over cashew plantation.
The CSE claimed that in other parts of the country,
where this pesticide is used extensively, there is growing
evidence of its toxicity.
"In spite of these concerns, the Indian government,
represented by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, had
been supportive of the pesticide industry`s position that
Endosulfan must not be banned," the CSE said.
The CSE stressed that phase-out of the pesticide must
be expedited.
"It is time that the government recognizes the need to
make concerted efforts towards moving to non-chemical
alternatives of Endosulfan. This will help keep the farmers
out of the pesticide`s bad health and debt trap," it said.
PTI
