Delhi HC concerned over pesticides in vegetables

The Delhi High Court Wednesday expressed concern over a report that said pesticide residues were found to be "beyond permissible limits" in vegetables and edible items sold across the country.

A division bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, taking note of a report filed by amicus curiae Sanjay Jain, issued notice to the central and city governments on the issue.

It sought response from the department of agriculture and cooperation, department of agriculture research and education, department of chemicals and petrochemicals, department of biotechnology, ministry of environment and forests, food safety and standards authority, and department of food safety.

The court will hear the case March 5.

It said high content of pesticides in vegetables and fruits required a "pan-India" concerted effort.

Jain submitted a report and said pesticides are used in a "growing number of vegetables which have the potential to cause serious neurological problem, kidney damage, skin diseases, cancer and other diseases".

Going through the report, the court said: "India is not a country to allow such type of chemicals to be used in vegetables and fruits. The central government has to make the effort. It has to be pan-India effort."

Jain told the bench that the issue required efforts from all stakeholders, including various government departments.

Appearing for the Delhi government, advocate Zubeda Begum told the court that the Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board found "no pesticides residues beyond permissible limit" on 1,134 samples reviewed in a year, from January 2013 to January 2014.

The samples collected and tested by the government were very small and did not reflect the actual ground figures, said the amicus curiae, who was assisting the court in the matter.

He further said there was no effective public campaign to educate the farmers, despite the fact that ignorance of farmers was the fountainhead of the pesticide problem.

The high court had earlier taken suo motu cognizance on an NGO report that said the amount of pesticides used by farmers in India was as much as 750 times higher than European standards.