Telangana HC Issues Notices to Centre, State on Sale of Spurious Seeds, Pesticides
Hyderabad: A division bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Alok and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, issued notices to the Union and state governments directing them to respond to a public interest litigation(PIL) complaining of inaction by them in not containing sale of spurious seeds and pesticides in the state, due to which farmers face the risk of losing their crop yield.
The bench was adjudicating a PIL filed by Ravi Krishna Vattam, an advocate from Beeramguda in Sangareddy district.
It issued notices to secretary, Union ministry of agriculture, the CEO, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSA), secretary, ministry of environment and forest, principal secretary of the state agriculture department and the commissioner and director, agriculture and cooperation to respond to the notices within four weeks.
Counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the governments have not taken tangible steps to contain spurious and fake/misbranded pesticides. To thwart incidents of sale of spurious seeds in the state, the petitioner’s counsel sought a direction to the state government to notify in the gazette and instruct distributors and licensed shopowners to submit samples of pesticides and insecticides so that they can be analysed before entering the market.
BJP mahilas to protest against govt for taking women for a ride
Members from the BJP Mahila Morcha burnt an effigy of the state government at Telugu Talli flyover for failing to allocate funds for a number of promises made to women by the Congress in its election manifesto.
The Congress government has rendered great injustice to women by completely ignoring the poll promises made to them, said Dr Shilpa Reddy, president of the Telangana BJP Mahila Morcha.
“The Congress had promised to offer 10 gm of gold and Rs 1 lakh in cash to women getting married and electric scooters free of cost to college-going girls. They had also promised to extend `2,500 monthly financial assistance and a LPG gas cylinder at Rs 500 for women under the Maha Lakshmi Yojana, apart from `Bharosa card’ to the tune of Rs 5 lakh to girl students. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had promised to make at least one crore women `kotishwarlus”. But, the government has not made any budgetary allocations towards these”, charged Shipla Reddy
She asked women ministers in the state Cabinet and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to explain why the Congress government had cheated women. The Mahila Morcha will intensify its agitation against the state government and involve women from all corners of the state if the Congress fails to fulfill the promises made to them, she cautioned.
