May 5: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday issued a mandamus order to the government to submit a report within two months at the SC after testing the level of pesticides in all vegetables and fruits imported from India and other countries.    
A division bench of justices Shushmalata Mathema and Nahakul Subedi issued such an order along with a four-point directive on this issue.    
Likewise, the SC has directed concerned government bodies to test the level of pesticides on all imported vegetables and fruits at the customs points by establishing laboratories.    
The SC has further ordered the government to equip such labs with international-level equipment and skilled human resources.    
Similarly, the SC has sought details of the government's preparations on effective implementation of national and international laws and standards in regard to regulate the usage of pesticides. The SC has asked the stakeholders to submit the details to the SC on implementation part of the plans and standards made in the past four years following the SC's order in July 2019. -- RSS