Forty-four social and environmental groups, along with retired forest officers and scientists, have asked the Himachal Pradesh government to prohibit glyphosate-based herbicides on forest land. The chemical is reportedly used to clear vegetation for illegal pea and hemp farming in high-altitude forests. The groups said this breaches the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and sought scientific testing of soil, water, vegetation and biodiversity, including chemical residues. The Forest Department has taken a zero-tolerance stance and destroyed pea crops in five small forest patches so far.