Very good step from the govt Govt puts on hold GM crop trials after pressure from Swadesh Jagran Manch Representatives of SJM and BKS met Prakash Javadekar today to apprise him of their concerns The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and Bharatiya Kissan Sangh (BKS), outfits affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamseavak Sangh, in their first successful economic policy intervention claimed today to have secured an assurance from the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government that field trials of Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been put on hold. Representatives of SJM and BKS met Minister of Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar today to apprise him of their concerns about the reported approval given to field trials of 13 GM crops. The minister assured the members of SJM and BKS that the decision about field trials of GM crops has been put on hold, Ashwani Mahajan, All India Co-Convener of SJM, said. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the ministry had on July 17 approved field trials of 13 GM crops, including that of mustard, cotton, brinjal, rice and chickpea. The SJM had then termed the decision a betrayal of peoples trust. The GEAC is the statutory recommendatory for approving any release of genetically engineered products into the environment, which includes field trials that companies and researchers carry out across the country in open farms to test their products. The July 17 meeting was GEACs first meeting after the NDA government took charge. The agenda of the GEAC meetings, just as other statutory bodies is set after informal consultations at the ministerial level and the body comprises senior environment ministry and other government officials besides experts. As the GEAC is only recommendatory in nature, its decisions require approval from the Union environment, forests and climate change minister. Sources in the ministry said, the minister, Javadekar, had put the approvals from the recent GEAC meeting on hold and they were likely to be put in the cold storage. Today, the delegation reminded the minister that during the United Progressive Alliance governments tenure the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in its report on GM food crops tabled in Parliament on 9 August 2013 had recommended stopping of all field trials under any garb until regulations and oversight were overhauled and made better. The delegation pointed out the Supreme Court appointed Technical Expert Committee comprising eminent scientists strongly recommended against any open release of GM crops including field trials until a robust regulatory mechanism is put in place. SJM and BKS representatives requested the minister to not allow field trials of GM crops without proper scientific evaluation about their probable long term impact on human health and soil because the decision to introduce a foreign gene in the environment was irreversible. They also claimed that there wasnt any scientific study to prove that GM technology does increase productivity, and that environment costs were likely to outweigh the benefits of these crops. The delegation told the minister that GM crops also posed the issue of food security of India. In India, as in many other parts of the world, a few multinational corporations, principally Monsanto, have a virtual monopoly on the GM technology. If a countrys food production becomes overly dependent on seeds and other inputs from a handful of such companies, will it not compromise its food security? Mahajan said. The SJM, Mahajan said, urged the Minister to not rely on biased and manipulated reports of vested interests among the industry, instead institute independent enquiries about the likely impact of GM food crops on soil, human and other species health to ensure that no harm is done to traditional gene pool /biodiversity of the nation, soil, food security and health of the people of India. The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had stated: Genetically Modified (GM) foods will not be allowed without full scientific evaluation on its long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers. On the other hand, SJM, which is the RSSs economic policy arm, has consistently and publicly opposed the introduction of GM food crops in India. In the UPA regime, the government had remained divided on the issue with Jairam Ramesh as environment minister putting a moratorium on one BT brinjal experiment sparking a debate. His successor Jayanthi Natarajan had strongly opposed all food crop trials and held back clearances given by GEAC citing the on-going Supreme Court case. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had advocated as strongly in favour of GM crops, pushing the government to put this as the official stance before the Supreme Court. Veerappa Moily, who took over from Natarajan at the environment ministry, gave the go-ahead to about two dozen field trials of food crops claiming the previous minister had misread the facts of the Supreme Court case. As per environment ministrys internal notes more than 100 crop varieties - including cereals, fruits and vegetables are in various stages of development and testing. The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill moved by the UPA handing over control and oversight over GM technology to the promoting department of biotechnology lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:27:13 +0000
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