Aizawl: The Centre for Environment and Social Justice (CESJ), a prominent Mizoram-based environmental watchdog, has issued a public statement accusing the Mizoram government of recklessly endangering the state’s water sources through the careless use of pesticides.
The organisation has demanded a fine of ₹5,00,000 on those responsible for pesticide application in the New Capital Complex (MINECO), which includes the main secretariat building of the state government.
The group claims that despite an earlier warning, pesticides were still used in government premises, posing a grave risk to the environment and public health, especially during the monsoon season. On July 25, 2024, CESJ had submitted a formal letter to Agriculture Minister PC Vanlalruata, urging the state to impose strict restrictions on the use of chemical pesticides, especially in ecologically sensitive areas.
However, CESJ says their appeal was ignored. “What we feared has already happened,” said Vanramchhuangi, Working Chairman of CESJ. “Pesticides were used carelessly in the Secretariat Complex, and the rains have carried these toxins into the very streams and rivers that supply drinking water to over 3 to 4 lakh residents of Aizawl. It is nothing short of slow poisoning.”
In a strongly worded letter dated August 21, 2024, CESJ wrote to the Chairman of the Mizoram Pollution Control Board, stating, “If pesticide is not used in the correct proportion and dosage, the environment suffers deeply. During monsoon, these chemicals flow straight into the water bodies. We now face an indirect but very real contamination of Aizawl’s primary water sources.”
CESJ has also provided geotagged photographic evidence of the area where pesticide was reportedly sprayed and has demanded the Pollution Control Board impose a penalty of ₹5,00,000 on the official or contractor responsible.
But beyond the bureaucratic demands, CESJ’s leadership did not hold back in condemning the wider attitude of the Mizo public toward the environment. “The Mizo people are negligent in every way,” said Vanramchhuangi. “We are poisoning our own water sources without hesitation. We dump excreta into our drains, and we act as if eating our own filth is acceptable. Our rivers are clogged with plastic, stone dust, and every imaginable pollutant. And the ones responsible for 99.9% of this pollution are men.”
Also Read | Mizoram records 9,231 eye donation pledges, 593 transplants completed