Kerala cancels endosulfan firm’s licence

The Kerala government has banned the production of endosulfan in the wake of the world-wide ban on manufacture, sale and use of the cheap and popular pesticide.

The state government has cancelled the licence granted to Hindustan Insecticide Limited (HIL) at Cochin to manufacture the pesticide, Health Minister Adoor Prakash said. HIL is the sole company in Kerala manufacturing the pesticide.

The HIL, which is a public sector undertaking under the government of India, has been producing 1600 tonnes of endosulfan a year. As endosulfan is banned in Kerala, the company was selling the product in other states in the country and exporting to foreign countries.

The HIL could continue the production as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) had banned the production and sale of the pesticide subject to certain exemptions. Exemptions to as many as 23 crops were sought by India alone.

However, the government asked the company to stop the production in view of the sentiments expressed by various sections of the people against the pesticide. The health minister said that the company has been asked to stop production immediately. The company has been allowed to continue with the production of other pesticides based on certain conditions. The Pollution Control Board had earlier this month ordered the closure of the company due to its failure to comply with its directions on the disposal of sludge containing endosulfan chemicals.

The state government decision came close on the heels of a Supreme Court verdict, ordering a countrywide ban on manufacture, sale and use of the pesticide for eight weeks.