THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The licence given to Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL) for manufacturing endosulfan has been cancelled, Health Minister Adoor Prakash told reporters here on Friday.However, the HIL, in the eye of the storm over the endosulfan issue, can manufacture other products.The closure notice issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to HIL has also been withdrawn. From now on, only the endosulfan plant will remain closed.As per the discussions between the Chief Minister, Health Minister and the representatives of the HIL management and the employees’ union, the HIL has agreed to dispose of the pesticide-laden solid waste dumped in the compound in two phases.The first phase would be completed within a week and the second phase in seven months by which time all traces of endosulfan will be completely erased, he said.Adoor Prakash said that it is on these grounds that the HIL would be allowed to continue operations.Pollution Control Board (PCB) Chairman Sajeev Kumar, who attended the press conference, said that the HIL had dumped the waste in two lagoons. The waste dumped in the first lagoon has been cleared, while that in the second is yet to be cleared.Sajeev said that the waste, which has both DDT and endosulfan, would be totally removed.As of now 3,000 tonnes of waste have been moved to a dumping yard at Ambalamedu, said the PCB Chairman.
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