Indian Punjab bans sale of herbicide glyphosate

The Indian Punjab government has banned the sale of herbicide glyphosate in the state, which is widely used to control a variety of weeds in almost all crops, with immediate effect, a senior official said here on Wednesday.

State Agriculture Secretary K.S. Pannu said that the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB&RC) has recommended the use of the herbicide only for tea garden and non-crop area.

"There is no cultivation of tea plantation in Punjab and on account of 200 per cent crop intensity in Punjab, non-crop area is too meagre," said Pannu.

"Even this small area is also associated with crop cultivation, being ridges, water channels, bundhs and some area between the rows of crops, orchids and canal/drain banks. Therefore, even this area is a part of crop area for all practical purposes," Pannu pointed out.
The Punjab State Farmers Commission had also recommended the ban on the sale of the chemical in the state.

"This chemical has been observed to be cancer-causing material. Besides cancer, this chemical is also known for causing other health problems and has the potential to damage human DNA as per the opinion of experts from PGIMER, Chandigarh," a state government spokesman pointed out.
Glyphosate is sold under various trade names. Pannu said the state government has directed all pesticide manufacturers, marketers and dealers in the state will not sell glyphosate formulations and concentrations with immediate effect.

"The licensing authorities have been asked to take necessary steps for removal of entries for glyphosate from the licences issued by them," he added.

Agrarian Punjab contributes 50 per cent of food grains (wheat and paddy) to the national kitty despite having just 1.54 per cent of the country's geographical area.