The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has, at last, placed a mounting public-health and environmental emergency at the heart of political debate: the excessive, unsafe and at times illegal use of chemical pesticides in the Union Territory’s orchards and fields. This is a partial victory for farmers, scientists, health experts and citizens who have long warned that J&K is drifting towards a serious agricultural and health crisis. But the discussion will matter only if it forces urgent government action. Another committee, another assurance and another round of inspections will not suffice.
The issue surfaced during the ongoing autumn session through a Calling Attention Motion by PDP MLA Waheed Ur Rehman Para, who highlighted the rising cancer burden and alleged use of spurious and substandard pesticides in major farming and horticultural belts. Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar told the House that 5,772 pesticide samples were tested in 2025–26, of which 85 were substandard; in 2026–27, 1,658 samples were tested and 66 declared substandard. The Government also cited prosecutions, FIRs, licence cancellations and suspensions, and noted that 32 highly toxic formulations have been banned or restricted in J&K. These figures confirm the problem is real, but enforcement remains too weak and must be strengthened at district level with adequate manpower and equipment, placed directly under the control and supervision of District Development Commissioners.
Stricter supervision of agrochemical sales is essential. Dealers must not recommend hazardous pesticides based solely on commercial interest. A prescription-based system, with authorised agriculture or horticulture officers specifying crop problems, chemicals, dosages, waiting periods and safety precautions, should be introduced. Sellers of counterfeit, expired, banned or unauthorised products, or those making sales without a prescription slip, must face licence cancellation, seizure, heavy penalties and prosecution, with provisions for imprisonment up to five years.
The real question is not whether a pesticide bottle meets a lab standard, but whether J&K is using too many chemicals, too often and without adequate technical supervision. At a recent farmers’ and citizens’ conference in Jammu, organised by the We The Humans Forum for Nature and Mankind, speakers cited official agriculture data showing J&K uses around 3.69 kg of chemical pesticides per hectare, compared with roughly 0.62 kg in Punjab and Haryana, about 0.50 kg in Himachal Pradesh and approximately 0.22–0.29 kg as the national average. More than 90 per cent of pesticides used annually in J&K are applied to apple orchards, with farmers spending nearly 55 per cent of production costs on crop protection.
Research underscores the intensity of chemical use on the ground. A 2010 study linked to SKIMS and published in the Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology estimated that Kashmir’s orchards—spread over nearly 200,000 hectares—receive about 7,750 metric tonnes of fungicides and 3,186 metric tonnes of insecticides annually, with farmers following 10 recommended spray schedules between March and November but often adding several extra sprays, taking the total to 12–15 or more per season. More recent field reports note that many orchardists now apply 12–14 sprays per season, up from six to seven a decade ago, and some use as many as 15 rounds of fungicide and insecticide each year, spraying every 10–12 days instead of the advised 18–21. A 2017 study on externalities of pesticide application in the Valley found that, on average, apple orchards are sprayed nine times, with some farmers exceeding 12 sprays. These comparisons need transparent verification, but they are alarming enough to demand an independent audit.
J&K cannot wait until consequences become irreversible. The 2010 SKIMS study on primary malignant brain tumours examined 432 patients treated between 2005 and 2008 and found that 389 (90.04 per cent) were orchard workers, orchard residents or children who played in orchards with prolonged exposure to multiple pesticides. Researchers reported a strong association between pesticide exposure and malignant brain tumours, with high-grade tumours predominant among orchard-related cases, while calling for further epidemiological work. It is too serious to be dismissed as an old academic footnote.
The Government has reported around 51,000 cancer patients in J&K; unofficial sources and legislators’ statements suggest figures up to 70,000–71,000. While cancer has multiple causes and causality requires detailed evidence, the combination of a heavy cancer burden, intensive chemical use, occupational exposure and the SKIMS findings demands immediate investigation. In public health, credible warning signs justify reducing exposure even as research continues. Legislators known for public-interest advocacy—M Y Tarigami, Mir Saifullah, Sham Lal Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Dr Rameshwar Sharma, Mehrajudin Malik, Dr Veeri, Vikram Randhawa, R S Pathania, Devyani Rana and others—must recognise this as an agriculture and health emergency.
Pesticide residues in water sources add another layer of alarm. A 2023 study in the Upper Jhelum region detected residues of 10 out of 26 commonly used pesticides in 23 water sources, including the Jhelum, springs and freshwater lakes. Chlorpyrifos and quinalphos exceeded target hazard quotients (>1) at several sites, indicating non-carcinogenic health risks from drinking water alone. Heavy-metal contamination in Dal, Hokersar, Manasbal and Wular further underscores the need for urgent ecological monitoring and protection.
The most important long-term response is widespread adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM prioritises pest surveillance, crop sanitation, resistant varieties, mechanical and cultural methods, biological control and bio-pesticides, permitting chemical intervention only when necessary and in recommended quantities. The Central IPM Centre in J&K already has a mandate for pest surveillance, conservation of natural enemies and promotion of IPM; this work must expand to every orchard and farming cluster through field schools, village-level advisories and trained extension personnel. The Government should incentivise manufacturing, quality testing and use of bio-pesticides, offering capital support, technical assistance and low-interest credit to local entrepreneurs, cooperatives, FPOs, universities and private manufacturers. Farmers should receive direct incentives, demonstration support and assured access to certified products. Precision agriculture—calibrated sprayers, weather-based advisories, pest forecasting and sensor-guided application—can help reduce spray wastage, which studies in Indian agriculture estimate at up to 70 per cent from drift, runoff, evaporation and leaching.
J&K must learn from Punjab’s experience. The “cancer train”, documented since 2005 and running nightly from Abohar (via Bathinda Junction) to Bikaner’s Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Hospital, symbolises the human cost of delayed action. Legislators must press for a time-bound, independent task force involving Agriculture, Horticulture, Health, Environment, Jal Shakti, SKIMS, SMHS, SKUAST-Jammu, SKUAST-Kashmir, the Pollution Control Committee and independent experts to publish annual data on consumption, residues, exposure, disease patterns and enforcement. J&K is not yet proven to face a pesticide-induced cancer epidemic, but the warning signs are too serious for complacency. The Assembly has heard the concern; now the Government must act.
The time for committees and assurances has passed. What J&K needs now is a clear, time-bound roadmap to bring pesticide use down to scientifically recommended levels, coupled with immediate rollout of safe, trusted alternatives. The Government must announce an incentive-based policy that rewards farmers for adopting IPM, subsidises bio-pesticide production and use, and penalises reckless chemical overuse. Field-level extension must be strengthened to guide every orchardist on calibrated spraying, waiting periods and residue management. Water bodies must be monitored continuously, with public dashboards showing pesticide and heavy-metal levels. Enforcement must be real, with district-level teams empowered to seize spurious stocks and prosecute violators. This is not a matter for endless examinations; it is an agriculture and health emergency knocking at our doors. The Government must act now—before the knock becomes a crash.
The author is an Environmental Advocate and Policy Writer. He is the Convenor of We The Humans Forum for Nature and Mankind, Jammu, a public charitable trust.
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