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New Delhi: A Bill seeking to encourage production of good quality and safe pesticides at affordable rates while curbing sale of spurious products was today introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Introducing the Pesticides Management Bill, 2008 in the Upper House, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the manufacture of good quality, safe and affordable pesticides need to be encouraged while the sale of spurious and poor quality pesticides should be stringently curbed.
The new bill, which will replace the Insecticides Act, 1968, was needed to provide for better management of pesticides to respond to need for faster agricultural growth. The proposed law aims to regulate the import, manufacture, export, sale, transport, distribution, quality and use of pesticides in the country.
The new law is being enacted with a view to minimise the contamination of agricultural commodities by pesticides residues. The government will allow the use of a pesticide only after assessing its efficacy and safety. The bill enables the government constitute the Central Pesticides Board to advise it on scientific and technical matters arising out of the administration of the proposed law.
For the first time, the government has defined household pesticides to enable delicensing of their retail sales for easy availability to the consumers. The bill will also prohibit field application of household pesticides. Under the bill, there is provision to accredit private laboratories to carry out all functions of Central Pesticides Laboratory. It has also provided an elaborate procedure for drawing pesticides samples and their inspections. Under the proposed law the government has made punishment more stringent to check production and sale of "misbranded, sub-standard and spurious" pesticides. (PTI) | 
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