The center bans paraquat dichloride, a herbicide linked to thousands of self-harms, murders and accidental deaths

A farmer sprays pesticides in a field on the outskirts of Prayagraj. | Photo credit: PTI

The central government has announced a ban on paraquat dichloride, a herbicide linked to thousands of deaths in India due to self-harm, homicide and accidental deaths. The announcement comes on the back of a series of bans by various states, including the latest by Andhra Pradesh and earlier by Telangana, Odisha and Kerala.

The notification by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare links the herbicide/weedicide ban to an expert committee as well as a registration committee report that regulates the registration and sale of pesticides in the country under the Insecticides Act, 1968. The registration committee cited several areas of concern, including “documented adverse health effects; continuing history of poisoning and reported high mortality; absence of specific antidote; among others”.

“The Registration Committee has recommended a complete ban on paraquat dichloride in India, i.e. immediate ban on the manufacture, import, transport, distribution, sale and use of paraquat dichloride under the Insecticides Act, 1968,” the notification said.

The committee noted that paraquat dichloride is already banned or severely restricted in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Paraquat dichloride is used by farmers after harvest to clear land for the next crop, but the ban has been debated in the country for years due to reports of occupational health risks among farm workers and its use in cases of self-harm. Recent data from hospitals in India has shown how cases of self-harm have accelerated due to the easy and cheap availability of the toxic chemical through online sellers. The chemical has no antidote.

The notification is the first step in the ban, as the Department of Agriculture has provided a 30-day deadline for submitting proposals and objections required under the Insecticide Act. All states have been directed to take steps under the provisions of the Insecticides Act to make it effective.

“This is a welcome development. It will save many lives. If such a decision had been taken a decade earlier, we would not have lost so many farmers and young people to self-harm,” said Marri Mahesh Reddy, an emergency doctor from Karimnagar, Telangana, who campaigned for the ban with Doctors Against Paraquat.

Published – 14 Jul 2026 23:42 IST