A two-member committee inquiry report on large-scale marketing of spurious and substandard pesticides and fertiliser in Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas districts with the connivance of officials of Agriculture Department and Police may prove an exercise in futile.
According to sources close to inquiry committee the report failed to provide any evidence or supplement its observations by documentary evidence except chasing the wild goose.
These sources maintained that the Committee was constituted by the Chief Secretary through a notification on the report of Agency which had pointed out a number of persons engaged in the illegal marketing of fake pesticides and other products with the connivance of Agriculture officers.
The terms of reference of the committee includes to furnish report on the illegal sale of fake pesticides, fertiliser and other products, support provided by the officials of Agriculture Department by providing reports and certificates for illegal gratification and involvement of DDO, Agriculture Mirpurkhas and Umerkot but the committee went far beyond the TOR by discussing matter which were not relevant while ignoring some of the most important point.
For instant, the committee had ignored the lack of co-ordination between Agriculture Department, Police and Judiciary, the role of district government in implementing the Pesticides Ordinance 1971 and Rule 1973 under which the District Officer Agriculture and DDO Agriculture are the inspectors and have the responsibility to check the sale pesticides and fertiliser, draw samples and initiate legal action.
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