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Agricultural Biosecurity Bill, 2013

2013- 12- 15 17:12:24 GKToday

Cont ent s
Object ives of t he Bill
Proposed Agricult ural Biosecurit y Aut horit y of India
Funct ions of t he aut horit y
Powers of t he aut horit y:
Cont rol of quarant ine pest
Biosecurit y emergencies
Agricult ural Biosecurit y Fund
Nat ional Organizat ion f or int ernat ional Collaborat ion
T he inf low of pest s/diseases of plant s and animals int o count ries t hrough
import s is considered one of t he biggest t hreat s t o diversit y, leading t o huge
economic losses. All of you must know t hat t he weed Part henium
hyst erophorous, called Gajar Ghas is a highly prevalent invasive species in
India. T his species is originally a nat ive t o t he American T ropics and it was
int roduced in India by t he cont aminat ed PL-480 wheat , which used t o come t o
us f rom USA as f ood support once upon a t ime in 1950s and 1960s. Similar
weeds are Phalaris minor (guli danda) and Lanat ana camara have got
est ablished in t he count ry via t he same ways.
Against t his backdrop, On March 11, 2013, t he Agricult ural Biosecurit y Bill, 2013
has been int roduced in Lok Sabha. T he Agricult ural Biosecurit y Bill aims bring
all aspect s of plant , animal and marine prot ect ion and quarant ine under a high
powered st at ut ory body Agricult ural Biosecurit y Aut horit y wit h adequat e
powers.
Here are some import ant observat ions:
Objectives of the Bill
A bet t er regime of quarant ining and cont rolling pest s and even "exot ic
species".
T o cover four sectors of agricultural insecurity viz. plant healt h, animal
healt h, living aquat ic resources (like f isheries) and agricult urally
import ant micro-organisms.
Proposed Agricultural Biosecurity Authority of India
T o be est ablished via t he proposed act at Faridabad.
T o be headed by a Direct or General, appoint ed by t he cent ral

government .
Comprises expert s in plant and animal pest s and diseases, and
represent at ives of various minist ries and organisat ions.
Functions of the authority
Regulat ion of t he import and export of plant s, animals and relat ed
product s
Prevent ion of t he int roduct ion of quarant ine pest s f rom out side India
Implement at ion of t he post -ent ry quarant ine measures.
It can issue direct ions t o import ers and export ers of such product s f or
t he discharge of it s f unct ions.
Powers of the authority:
No person shall import any plant , animal, and plant or animal product s in
cont ravent ion of not if icat ions or guidelines issued by t he Aut horit y.
Exceptions shall be provided to those imports that are issued permits by the Authority, and imports with
sanitary or phytosanitary (relating to the health of plants) certificates issued by the respective authority
in the country of origin and the country of re-export.
Exports of the above products shall not be allowed except in cases where sanitary or phytosanitary
certificates have been issued by an officer of the authority. However, such certificates shall not be
necessary if the country of destination does not require it.

T he Cust oms Act , 1962 or ot her laws in f orce, t hat prohibit t he import of
cert ain cust oms and goods shall also apply t o t hose pest s, plant s and
animals, which require permit s or are prohibit ed by t he Aut horit y.
If an of f icer has reason t o believe t hat any product was import ed int o
India in cont ravent ion of t he Act , t he of f icer may require t he holder t o
remove t he product f rom India wit hin a period of t hirt y days. If t he holder
f ails t o do so, t he of f icer may seize such a product f rom him and
remove or dest roy it .
T he Aut horit y may award a reasonable compensat ion t o a person f or
loss or damage t o non-inf est ed plant s, animals or relat ed product s
incurred by him as a result of any sanit ary or phyt osanit ary measures.
Control of quarantine pest
No person shall possess, move, grow, raise, cult ure, breed or produce
any plant , animal and relat ed product s if he has reason t o believe t hat
such a product is or may be carrying a quarant ine pest .
A person shall be responsible f or providing inf ormat ion immediat ely
when he becomes aware of t he exist ence of quarant ine pest s or plant
or animal diseases in an area.
T he Aut horit y may not if y any pest t o be a quarant ine pest . It can also
not if y an area t o be a cont rolled area if it suspect s or det ermines t hat
t he area is inf est ed or inf ect ed wit h a quarant ine pest .
When an area is not if ied t o be cont rolled, t he Aut horit y shall

communicat e t he quarant ine measures t hat t he st at e government shall

implement . Such measures shall include t he t reat ment or disposal of
plant s, animals, t heir prohibit ion or cont rol and ot her measures.
If t he st at e government f ails t o t ake measures in a cont rolled area, t hen
t he Aut horit y can t ake necessary st eps f or t he eradicat ion or
cont ainment of t he quarant ine pest . T he st at e government shall
reimburse t he cost s incurred f or such purposes.
Biosecurity emergencies
On t he recommendat ion of t he Aut horit y, Cent ral government can
declare a biosecurit y emergency in an area in case of an out break,
dist ribut ion, or spreading of a pest or organism, which has t he pot ent ial
t o cause a signif icant loss t o biosecurit y.
Such declarat ion shall cease t o have ef f ect af t er six months unless it is
revoked earlier.
During t he biosecurit y emergency, t he cent re may give direct ions t o t he
Aut horit y f or managing or eradicat ing t he organism due t o which t he
emergency has been declared.
Aut horit y may not if y a scheme f or t he management or eradicat ion of
such an organism, wit h t he prior approval of t he cent ral government .
Agricultural Biosecurity Fund
T he bill proposes t o est ablish a Agricult ural Biosecurit y Fund, in which
t he money obt ained by t he aut horit y as f or purposes specif ied in t he
Act will be credit ed and will be ut ilized t heref rom. T he aut horit y can also
borrow f unds f rom any source t hrough t he issue of bonds and
debent ures t o discharge it s f unct ions. However, t o raise such f unds, t he
aut horit y needs prior consent of t he cent ral government .
National Organiz ation f or international Collaboration
T he Aut horit y shall act as t he nat ional organisat ion t o discharge obligat ions
under various int ernat ional convent ions such as t he Int ernat ional Plant
Prot ect ion Convent ion. It shall provide inf ormat ion relat ed t o t he import ,
export and t echnical requirement s f or plant s, plant product s and ot her
object s, t o similar int ernat ional, regional or ot her organisat ions, f ree of charge
or on a reciprocal basis.
Thus, Bill aims to establish an authority to biosecure global trade in farm items. The
integrated national biosecurity system thus established will be covering plant,
animal and marine issues to combat threats of bio-terrorism from pests and weeds.
Such a system would not only increase the national capacity to protect human
health and agricultural production, it would also equip the country to meet obligations
under several trade and sanitary agreements in food and agricultural products.