HC sets up panel to probe pesticide levels in fruits and veggies

NEW DELHI: Concerned about the pesticide levels in fruits and vegetables being consumed by city residents, the Delhi high court on Wednesday set up a panel to purchase these eatables at random and subject them to lab testing.
Hearing a matter it took up suo moto on a TOI report highlighting rampant use of banned pesticides in fruits and vegetables, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed the panel entrusted with the task of getting tests in approved laboratories.
"We would like to find out as to whether pesticides are there in the vegetables sold in Delhi or not. It would be appropriate that the vegetables be purchased randomly and sent for test at laboratories, certified by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)," a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.
The court asked a panel comprising Additional Solicitor General A S Chandiok, standing counsel for Delhi government Najmi Waziri, Delhi Legal Services Authority member secretary Asha Menon, central government counsel Meera Bhatia and a senior advocate who is the amicus curiae in the case to buy vegetables at random from different shops or mandis in the capital and then get them tested to verify if there are excessive or banned pesticides in them. The bench also allowed two representatives of NGO Consumer Voice to accompany the lawyers.
It said the tests be conducted at laboratories at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) or other places which were approved by NABL.
Earlier after taking cognizance, HC had demanded a response from the government on a study on use of banned pesticides, conducted by NGO Consumer Voice which said the amount of pesticides used in India was as much as 750 times the European standards.
Out of five internationally banned pesticides, four were found to be common in vegetables and fruits, the study said, adding that these pesticides cause headache and affect fertility and can damage the kidney and liver.
"It is difficult to perceive how the community would react to such a situation when it is asserted that there has been an authentic research which shows that vegetables and fruits have become highly toxic because of the process of growing and preservation," the bench had then observed.
The NGO said the tests conducted on vegetables at a government-approved and NABL-accredited laboratory revealed that the Indian ladies finger contained captan, a toxic pesticide, up to 15,000 parts per billion (ppb).
The vegetables covered by the study included potato, tomato, snake gourd, pumpkin, cabbage, cucumber and bottle gourd, among others.