Draft Pesticide Bill: Punjab seeks larger role for states in storage, sales

The draft authorises the Central Government to frame rules to prescribe minimum qualification for all manufacturers, producers, sellers, stockists and distributors of pesticides

Punjab, a prominent agricultural state and a key contributor to the country's grain reserves, wants the Centre to revisit draft Pesticide Management Bill-2017 circulated few days back on the grounds that it limits the role of state governments in storage, sale and distribution of plant chemicals. 

Though agriculture, which includes plant protection in its scope, is a state subject, the draft does not give states adequate powers to regulate storage, sale and distribution of approved pesticides.

“The bill in its current draft needs to revisited and all its definitions, clause by clause, need to be properly analyzed,” Punjab agricultural commissioner Dr B