THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The Plantation Corporation of Kerala Ltd (PCK) on Wednesday decided to file a fresh counter-affidavit in the High Court on the endosulfan issue. The PCK board which met here also decided to appoint Additional Advocate-General Renjit Thampan as its counsel.
The new counter-affidavit will be in full confirmityt with the State Government’s policy on the pesticide issue, PCK chairman T J Anjalose, who presided over the meeting, said. PCK had courted controversy with its previous counter-affidavit which justified its use of endosulfan in its plantations. Moreover, the PCK had declined to shoulder any responsibility for the victims in Kasargod. It had stated that the pesticide was aerially sprayed in its plantations at Kasargod on the advice of experts.
With the affidavit kicking up a row, PCK managing director N.K.Manoj was shunted out by the government. Manoj himself had written to the Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran requesting that he be replaced. After Manoj, now PCK counsel Mohammed Yousuf also has lost his job.