Cabinet approves tougher pesticide law

The Cabinet on Monday approved a proposed pesticide law recommending tougher punitive action for the storage and marketing of contaminated pesticides meant for crop protection. Officials said the cabinet endorsed the Balai Nashak (Pesticide) Act 2017, which called for higher fines and longer jail terms for the marketing, sale, packaging or storage of adulterated pesticides, during its weekly meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. Briefing reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam said the proposed law also suggested stricter sanctions for the false labelling and tagging of any tainted pesticide. "In such cases, one could be fined as much as Tk100,000, and in default could be handed a one year jail term for a first time offense," he said. The cabinet secretary added that repeat offenders would have to pay double the amount – Tk200,000 – or languish in jail for two years. The cabinet secretary further said pesticide producers would be fined as much as Tk50,000 for offering their products to dealers with a false declaration that the products maintained legal standards. Furthermore, the unauthorised use of a registration number would warrant a fine between Tk75,000 to Tk1 lakh or a jail term between 1-2 years Alam also said the law recommended identical punishments for compromising pesticide quality, preventing the inspector from discharging duties and providing false information during registration.