Supreme Courts Directs Kerala Government to Compensate Victims of Endosulfan Poisioning

Supreme Courts Directs Kerala Government to Compensate Victims of Endosulfan Poisioning

The state government of Kerala has been directed by the Supreme Court on January 10, 2017 to pay Rs.500 crore as compensation to 5,000 victims suffering various types of deformities, health issues and other complication due to the use of Endosulfan pesticides in the state.Endosulfan causes DNA

damage in animals

♦  The apex court also instructed the state to set up such treatment centers that can provide long term treatment to those suffering from heath complications due to the poisoning. The victims mostly include newborns and their families.

Background

i. Endosulfan pesticides were generally used in 1950 in agricultural sector. However after 2 decades many countries realised its hazardous impact on environment as well as health of the people and was gradually banned in about 80 countries.

ii. Since the mid-1970s, villages in Kasargod district of Kerala also used aerial spraying of Endosulfan on thousands of hectares of cashew nut plantations.

iii. A PIL was filed by the ‘Democratic Youth Federation of India’ in 2011 about the use of the pesticide by the farmers despite the ban.

iv. A high level committee was appointed by the Supreme Court to study health hazards posed by registered pesticides and found that 13.35% of them including endosulfan were seriously hazardous after which SC also directed ban on the use of Endosulfan pesticide in 2012.

v. However the Centre and Kerala State Government opposed the ban due to the low cost and effective on pests.