Cong mulls legal action over MP govt's 'carcinogenic' footwear

Accusing the Madhya Pradesh government of supplying shoes with a banned cancer-causing dye to tendu leaf collectors, the state Congress today said that it would get the footwear tested before initiating legal action in the matter.

Citing media reports which stated that the Central Leather Research Institute had confirmed the presence of an organic compound called "azo dye" in the inner sole of some of the footwear, the Congress had yesterday demanded an inquiry into the issue.

Azo dyes, used for dyeing fibres, leather, plastic besides food items, were banned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1997 after it was found to be carcinogenic.

MP Forest Minister Gaurishankar Shejwar had earlier said that the Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Federation had set a target of distributing shoes to 11.23 lakh men, slippers to 11.11 lakh women and 22.35 lakh water bottles to tendu leaf collectors under its Charan Paduka Yojana.

Of this, the state government had so far distributed footwear to 8.14 lakh men and 10.20 lakh women tendu leaf collectors.

Speaking to reporters today, Shobha Oza, chairperson of the state Congress media cell alleged that the people who had been given shoes and slippers as part of the state-run scheme had complained of itching after wearing them.

"We will send the footwear to the laboratory for tests and then initiate legal action," Oza said in the presence of a dozen beneficiaries of the scheme.

Displaying the footwear, water bottles and sarees distributed under the scheme, Oza pointed out that the name of the manufacturing firm was missing from the products which was a violation of the law.

She alleged that the shoes and slippers were bought by the state government at Rs 195 and Rs 131 respectively though their market prices were much lower.

Speaking on the issue yesterday, Shejwar had confirmed that "excess amount of azo dye" was found in the inner soles of two lakh shoes but insisted that these were rejected and only shoes that passed laboratory tests were distributed.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest and submitted a memorandum, addressed to the state Director General of Police (DGP), at MP Nagar police station.

AAP state president Alok Agrawal demanded the arrest of those responsible for the distribution of the footwear.

He said that the footwear should be recalled and those who had been given them should be medically examined.

Shejwar had claimed yesterday that the footwear had been subjected to tests at the Footwear Design and Development Institute, Noida, and the Chennai-based Central Leather Research Institute.

The minister had also said that the firm that had manufactured these shoes had been asked to replace the inner soles, adding that the state government had not made any payment to it so far.