Writ on use of harmful fertilisers adjourned to next week

The two judge PIL bench of High Court comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip Bhosale and Justice S V Bhatt on Monday directed its Amicus Curie Niranjan Reddy to meet with the principle Secretaries of the States of Telangana and AP and share with them his expertise on preventive and curative steps to be taken for avoidance of usage of harmful pesticides in the growth of fruits as also milk products.

The bench is in the midst of judicial review of a report from the newspaper, now treated as a writ plea, complaining of harmful pesticides being used for increasing growth of fruits. The article also complained of injected hormones into cattle for improving milk yield.

The Principal Secretary of Health of AP informed the court of constitution of the committee that has since recommended certain methods to ensure proper policing of use of pesticides. The bench voiced its dissatisfaction at the scanty measures taken this far. The Telangana State government wanted more time to spell out corrective steps it has taken.

Meanwhile, the amicus Niranjan Reddy pointed to inadequate numbers of food inspectors to implement the provisions of the relevant law. The Bench adjourned the matter to next week. The bench however appreciated respective Principle Secretaries and the pro-active role they were playing in the matter.