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Amid growing demand by environment activists and various political parties for a central ban on the use of Endosulfan, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said the pesticide will be banned if its adverse effect on health is proved.'Endosulfan is banned in Kerala. I respect the decision of the government of Kerala and if there is evidence to show that it has health effects all over India, we will ban it at the national level,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Ramesh was reacting to a question on Kerala's demand for all India ban on the pesticide.
However, the minister said Endosulfan is a broad spectrum pesticide and there are no other cost effective alternatives to it as yet.
The country is witnessing a concerted campaign by a section of the society since last few months, seeking nation- wide ban on the use of Endosulfan following reports of adverse effects among the inhabitants of Kerala's Kasargod district after the Plantation Corporation of Kerala resorted to aerial spraying of undiluted endosulfan on cashew plantations.
Ramesh said he was aware of the disaster in Kasargod and have asked for more evidence. 'Some people say there are other districts in Karnataka, which have also been affected. I am very sensitive to this issue,' he said.
The government had all along maintained there was no cause-and-effect relationship between the use of Endosulfan and incidence of adverse health effects.
At the sixth meeting of Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee held in Geneva last year, India had raised its voice against moving any further on the issue till its concerns, both procedural and substantive, were addressed by the Conference of Parties of the Stockholm Convention.
Alleging that there were lot of lobbies working for and against the endosulfan, Ramesh said, 'I do not want to fall victim to any lobby -- either the anti-endosulfan or pro- endosulfan lobby...I will go by the evidence that I have. I fully support the ban that the Kerala Government has imposed.'
'I can assure you that I will not be persuaded by the manufacturers' lobby. If there is evidence that Endosulfan should be banned or phased out, I will be the first one to support it,' he said.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture will decide ultimately on the availability of alternative to Endosulfan, Ramesh added.
An all-party delegation from Kerala led by health minister P K Sreemathi will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow to press for a nationwide ban on Endosulfan.
Meanwhile, a Gujarat government committee opposed ban on endosulfan production in the state saying there are no health effects on humans as a result of exposure to it.
Lashing out at Ramesh, Achuthanandan said 'Is Ramesh, who poses himself as a person seriously concerned over environmental issues, not living in this country to be unaware of the grievous problems caused by endosulfan in places like Kasargode ?'.
'Not only in 11 panchayats in Kerala but also parts of Karnataka, from where Ramesh hails, are suffering from the harmful effects of endosulfan,' he said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram.
'Ramesh has always claimed that he is deeply concerned about environmental issues. But his stand on the endosulfan issue exposed his environmental concerns as mere hypocrisy.
Again and again demanding for more proof would be deplorable,' Achuthanandan said.
'Through this self-deception, Ramesh has insulted the very position of the Union Environment Minister he holds', he said.
Kerala Health Minister P K Sreemathy, who today led an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, said no firm assurance had been given by the Centre on banning endosulfan.
'The Prime Minister said the state would be informed of the Centre's stand after examining the study reports and allied documents on the issue', Sreemathy said in New Delhi.
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Ramesh was reacting to a question on Kerala's demand for all India ban on the pesticide.
However, the minister said Endosulfan is a broad spectrum pesticide and there are no other cost effective alternatives to it as yet.
The country is witnessing a concerted campaign by a section of the society since last few months, seeking nation- wide ban on the use of Endosulfan following reports of adverse effects among the inhabitants of Kerala's Kasargod district after the Plantation Corporation of Kerala resorted to aerial spraying of undiluted endosulfan on cashew plantations.
Ramesh said he was aware of the disaster in Kasargod and have asked for more evidence. 'Some people say there are other districts in Karnataka, which have also been affected. I am very sensitive to this issue,' he said.
The government had all along maintained there was no cause-and-effect relationship between the use of Endosulfan and incidence of adverse health effects.
At the sixth meeting of Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee held in Geneva last year, India had raised its voice against moving any further on the issue till its concerns, both procedural and substantive, were addressed by the Conference of Parties of the Stockholm Convention.
Alleging that there were lot of lobbies working for and against the endosulfan, Ramesh said, 'I do not want to fall victim to any lobby -- either the anti-endosulfan or pro- endosulfan lobby...I will go by the evidence that I have. I fully support the ban that the Kerala Government has imposed.'
'I can assure you that I will not be persuaded by the manufacturers' lobby. If there is evidence that Endosulfan should be banned or phased out, I will be the first one to support it,' he said.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture will decide ultimately on the availability of alternative to Endosulfan, Ramesh added.
An all-party delegation from Kerala led by health minister P K Sreemathi will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow to press for a nationwide ban on Endosulfan.
Meanwhile, a Gujarat government committee opposed ban on endosulfan production in the state saying there are no health effects on humans as a result of exposure to it.
Lashing out at Ramesh, Achuthanandan said 'Is Ramesh, who poses himself as a person seriously concerned over environmental issues, not living in this country to be unaware of the grievous problems caused by endosulfan in places like Kasargode ?'.
'Not only in 11 panchayats in Kerala but also parts of Karnataka, from where Ramesh hails, are suffering from the harmful effects of endosulfan,' he said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram.
'Ramesh has always claimed that he is deeply concerned about environmental issues. But his stand on the endosulfan issue exposed his environmental concerns as mere hypocrisy.
Again and again demanding for more proof would be deplorable,' Achuthanandan said.
'Through this self-deception, Ramesh has insulted the very position of the Union Environment Minister he holds', he said.
Kerala Health Minister P K Sreemathy, who today led an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, said no firm assurance had been given by the Centre on banning endosulfan.
'The Prime Minister said the state would be informed of the Centre's stand after examining the study reports and allied documents on the issue', Sreemathy said in New Delhi.
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