Pesticides Management Bill, 2020
- The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Pesticides Management Bill, 2020, which, the government claims will regulate the business of pesticides and compensate farmers in case of losses from the use of spurious agrochemicals.
- Today, the pesticide business is regulated by 1968 rules which have become ageold and need immediate rewriting, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.
- In February 2018, the Centre released a draft of the pesticides Bill that aims to replace the existing Insecticides Act of 1968.
- A key proposal in the 2018 version was to raise penalties on the sale of prohibited or spurious pesticides to ₹50 lakh and up to five years’ imprisonment, from the current ₹2,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. It is unclear if these provisions have been retained in the latest version of Bill that was cleared by the Union Cabinet.
- If there is any loss because of the spurious or low quality of pesticides then there is a provision for compensations. If required, the government will form a central fund which will take care of compensation
- The Centre for Science and Environment, in 2018, had criticized the Bill. “The existing draft provides inadequate representation to States ... The States should have a say in final decision making on pesticide, as they have the best understanding on the agroecological climate, environment and soil conditions,” it said in a statement
Source: The Hindu
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