The insane growth of global population coupled with destructive consumption habits of world’s wealthiest countries has resulted in a major threat to biodiversity. This amplified food and water shortages forcing humanity to exploit more from the limited resources available, which has put undue burden on soil. Humans have paid a high price for the manic race to boost soil fertility and food productivity. The excess use of harmful chemical fertilisers has drastically decreased the fertility of soil.
Apart from this, certain chemicals are fatally-dangerous to humans. Evidently, one chemical fertiliser, Endosulfan has proved to be detrimental to soil as well as the health of humans. Even after a decade of its ban, thousands are still suffering from the long term effect of this lethal pesticide. Additionally, they have also been the victim of Kerala government’s apathy.
Kerala government’s dilly dallying finally ends
With its back to the wall, the Kerala Government has finally decided to compensate all the Endosulfan pesticide exposure victims. It has released a corpus of Rs 200 crore to compensate these victims. Now, the victims of Endosulfan exposure will start receiving Rs 5 lakh each as compensation from the Kerala government.
Reportedly, Kerala has around 5,000 victims who suffered severe health issues from the exposure of this harmful pesticide. Several victims are still suffering from physical disabilities, skin disorders and cancer. Many of them have become mentally handicapped due to over exposure of Endosulfan pesticide.
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As per an available data out of 3,704 victims 102 are bedridden, 326 mentally challenged, 201 are physically disabled and 119 have cancer. The rest 2,966 fall in the residual category.
Therefore, this monetary compensation, at the behest of the Supreme Court’s repeated intervention, is a slight relief for the victims.
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However, this is not a proactive step or generosity of the Kerala government. Instead the communist government kept dilly-dallying about the issue for more than five years.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had reprimanded the state government for doing “virtually nothing” for these victims. The Honourable Court repeatedly lambasted the Pinarayi Vijayan government for its apathy. The court stated that the State’s inaction was “appalling”. It added that this amounts to breach of its 2017 judgement.
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In its 2017 judgement, the Court had ordered the State government to pay Rs 5 lakh each within three months. However, the court discovered that even after five years of its judgement, the communist government had only compensated eight out of the 3,704 victims. Moreover, these eight victims were the ones who had dragged the state government to the Supreme Court. They had sought contempt action against the State in the apex Court.
The Supreme Court was forced to issue a stern warning to the administration to perform the necessary or face contempt action.This was the sole rationale for the state government’s disbursement of Rs 5 lakh to each victim.
What is Endosulfan?
Endosulfan is a pesticide developed in the 1950s. It was used in agricultural fields to protect crops from insects and pests. At one time, India appeared to be the largest producer and consumer of Endosulfan insecticide.
It had a severe impact on human health and environment. It began accumulating in humans due to pest-infected crops and bio-magnification, producing long-term health consequences. Furthermore, it has a negative impact on newly born newborns. As a result, this hazardous chemical insecticide was outlawed in 2011.
The Stockholm conference prohibited the global manufacturing and use of the insecticide Endosulfan. On 13th of May 2011, the Supreme Court finally introduced a blanket ban on its production, sale and use.
It is disheartening that even after a decade of its formal ban, the ill effect of Endosulfan can still be found. This repercussion highlights the fact that nations have to find alternate methods to reduce their dependence on chemical fertilisers. As far as possible, the government should encourage farmers to shift to organic farming.
This case also highlights the insensitivity of the communist government. It took more than half-a-decade for the Kerala government to disburse the compensation to hapless victims. This also busts the communist hypocrite talk of being sensible and working for the hapless and down trodden communities.
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