The lush green Indian state of Kerala, advertised in travel brochures as "God’s Own Country", is at the center of a continuing battle in the country to secure an early ban on the use of the pesticide endosulfan. The Kerala government and activists say the pesticide has caused 4,000 victims in the state, through cancer, crippled limbs and babies born with deformities; 496 related deaths have been officially recorded. No scientist,...

Exemption for its application against 44 pests in 22 crops The decision will not be binding on India unless specifically ratified by it Exemptions will be available for five years, extendable for another five years The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention in Geneva on Friday approved the recommendation for elimination of production and use of Endosulfan and its isomers worldwide, subject to certain exemptions. The decision will not be binding on India...

The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday demanded a nationwide ban on pesticide endosulfan and the setting up of a committee to asses the damage caused by it and pay compensation to the victims. “It is absolutely unacceptable that despite several scientific studies — undertaken both by Central and State agencies — finding that endosulfan is a deadly chemical, it is still sold and used in our country,” the party...

India on Tuesday raised objections relating to the “absence of alternatives” and “procedural violations” to the recommendation for a global ban on endosulfan at the Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention meeting in Geneva. However, C. Jayakumar, observer from Kerala, told TheHindu over telephone from Geneva that there was softening in India's approach compared to its position at previous meetings. Though it had said that the health and environmental effects...

India is seeking a postponement of the decision on a global ban on Endosulfan to the next meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention in 2013, according to observers. C. Jayakumar and Dr. Mohammed Asheel, observers from Kerala to the ongoing Conference of Parties to the Convention in Geneva, said in an email message that India had distributed a draft of its proposal among the Asia Pacific group...