Pesticide deaths: CM Fadnavis cites illegal seeds, probe report didn’t mention this factor

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis (File)

THE statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to the effect that the state government has recommended a CBI probe into Yavatmal pesticide deaths, after a probe found unapproved Bt cotton seeds had been smuggled into the state, apparently has some misplaced facts.

The probe report by the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), accessed by The Indian Express, makes no mention of the illegal seeds of what is known as herbicide resistant (HT) cotton as being responsible for the pesticide deaths. The report is basically a compilation of all the factors that have been reported over the past few days, ever since the deaths created a furore. Among the major reasons cited by the probe team of the CICR that visited the fields in Yavatmal last month were use of non-recommended cocktails of pesticides by farmers, greater height attainment by the crop leading to head-level spraying, use of high-power sprays covering large areas in short time, non-observance of due care by farmers and farm labourers to cover themselves properly, high humidity causing the pesticide fumes sticking to skin and getting passively inside the farmers bodies, etc.

Nowhere has the CICR mentioned the spread of illegal HT Bt cotton being responsible for the problem. In fact, the report mentions that the state has about 40 lakh hectares under cotton in many districts across Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh regions, with Vidarbha’s share being 16 lakh hectares.

“Over 97 per cent of it is under Bollgard II Bt cotton,” says the report. It means that about 38.5 lakh hectares are under Bollgard II. Bollgard II and HT Bt are different — HT Bt has an additional gene for resisting herbicides apart from the two genes that Bollgard II has to resist infestation of bollworm, the main cotton crop destroyer pest. Clearly, there is no connection between pesticide deaths and the illegal HT Bt cotton.

The CMO statement also mentions FIRs being filed against “five companies” in the matter, when the three FIRs filed so far in Nagpur district at Saoner, Parsheoni and Narkhed are against unknown entities. “We have not mentioned anyone or any company in the FIR since the source of these seeds is still not traced,” Superintendent of Police Shailesh Balkawde told The Indian Express.

What the CMO has perhaps mixed up with the recent CICR findings is a report it had done in February on a request by Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, which had provided the CICR with some of the illegally used seeds from these places for testing to check if they had the HT gene. As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the CICR report had then confirmed the existence of the HT gene. It was on the basis of this report that the local agriculture department officials filed a police complaint last week. The three FIRs were filed on the basis of that complaint.

When contacted, Ketan Pathak, Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, said, “The tweets of the CM are very clear These seeds have been found in many states and that’s the reason for CBI probe recommendation.”