Pesticide poisoning claimed 272 lives of farmers in Maharashtra in 4 years

NEW DELHI: Deaths of farmers and farm labourers caused by pesticide poisoning in Maharashtra might have grabbed public attention outside the state only last year after the Yavatmal incidents but the danger has been around for long.
Casualty figures of Maharashtra, shared by the agriculture ministry in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, show that pesticide poisoning has been a consistent killer with the state reporting as many as 272 deaths in the last four years.
As far as last year’s incidents are concerned, Yavatmal district had reported the maximum number of 21 deaths but the remaining 42 deaths during 2017-18 were reported from 14 other districts in the state.
Incidentally, the pesticide Monocrotophos, whose unapproved mixture is reportedly blamed for majority of the deaths in Yavatmal, continues to figure in the list of 66 pesticides which are being used in India despite its ban or restricted use elsewhere in the world.
The special investigation team (SIT), formed to probe 2017’s pesticide poisoning deaths in Yavatmal, had found during its investigation that most victims had used Monocrotophos either in its pure form or mixed with some other pesticide. It had, therefore, recommended its ban.

Though the Maharashtra government had complied with the ban in November prohibiting its sale and marketing for a limited period of 60 days, it is up to the Centre to completely ban it under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
Farm activist Kavitha Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), however, believes that the state can still do it by suspending licence or by stopping issue of fresh licences or its renewal. “If states like Kerala and Punjab can find ways to ban use of certain pesticides, Maharashtra too can do that. We have even an example of Sikkim which, being a fully organic state, doesn’t allow use of any chemical pesticide”, she said.
Punjab has recently taken such a decision with respect to 20 pesticides, including Monocrotophos, and decided not to issue any fresh licences.
Reacting to large number of deaths due to pesticide poisoning in Maharashtra over the years, Kuruganti even spoke about its possible linkages with farm suicides in the state. “How do we know that the farm suicides in Vidarbha and Marathwada are not related to neuro-toxic effects of certain pesticides which may result in suicidal tendency?” she asked.
The agriculture ministry, which shared the death figures in response to a Parliament question, remained non-committal. It took refuge in quoting the recommendation of an expert committee, chaired by Anupam Verma, which reviewed 66 pesticides, including Monocrotophos. The ministry, however, admitted that these pesticides are banned, restricted or withdrawn in one or more countries of the world.
“The expert committee, inter alia, recommended Monocrotophos to be reviewed in 2018 after completion of certain technical studies”, said the minister of state for agriculture Parshottam Rupala in his written response. He, however, did not give any timeline.
Responding to a question whether the government was considering ban on Monocrotophos, he said, “Pesticides used as per approved labels and leaflets are unlikely to pose any harm”.