India's Haryana changes rules to buy controversial fungicide Raxil 2DS

The Inida’s Haryana government has changed the terms for the purchase of controversial fungicide Raxil 2DS, which were imposed by former MD of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation Ashok Khemka.

In April, Khemka was transferred after he questioned the efficacy of the fungicide. It was the whistleblower senior Haryana IAS officer's 44th transfer in his four-decade career.

As per the documents available with TOI, the department has changed all the conditions imposed by Khemka on M/s Bayer Crop Science Ltd for the purchase of Raxil 2DS, a fungicide used for wheat treatment. The decision was taken at a meeting of the purchase committee held on May 1, which was also attended by principal secretary of agriculture department Roshan Lal, present MD of HSDC B S Duggal and principal secretary, Haryana industries and commerce department, Y S Malik.

After changing all the conditions imposed by Khemka, the HSDC placed a fresh order for the fungicide on May 13.

In the original order on March 29, Ashok Khemka had put a primary condition that the manufacturing company would ensure statutory registration of fungicide for control of Karnal Bunt disease in wheat crop with Central Insecticide Board & Registration Committee (CIBRC). Khemka had imposed the said condition after the claims of the company made before Khemka through a February 27, 2013 letter that the fungicide Raxil 2DS has been tested for Karnal Bunt.

Surprisingly, in its fresh order, the HSDC removed this vital condition on the ground that "no such claims were made by the manufacturing company".

Similarly, the state government has also removed the other two important conditions, imposed by Khemka, through which the company was asked that the "rate of supply to HSDC should not be above the rate offered to any dealer or distributor by Bayer Crop Science in India" and "the benefit of dealer's margin offered to distributors for supply of fungicide will be passed on to HSDC from the original year of supply i.e. October 2010".

"Change in the supply order of the controversial fungicide by the state government at a time when the matter is pending before high court has proved that the issue raised by us before the HC is right and our stand before the HC has been strengthened," said Mukesh Verma, counsel for an NGO Bhiwani Sudhar and Vikas Samiti.

A PIL filed by the NGO demanding probe into the arbitrary purchase and recommendation of fungicide in violation of Insecticides Act, 1968, is already pending with the high court.

In its reply before the HC, the central government has also made it clear that M/s Bayer Crop Science, which had supplied the fungicide, had not applied for registration with CIBRC for treating Karnal Bunt, and no fungicide can be sold without that.