• News
  • India News
  • Govt junks plan to allow trials of Bt brinjal, other transgenic crops
This story is from March 24, 2021

Govt junks plan to allow trials of Bt brinjal, other transgenic crops

Govt junks plan to allow trials of Bt brinjal, other transgenic crops
NEW DELHI: Bowing to the pressure of RSS-linked farm outfit Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and heeding to the unwillingness of some states, the Centre has junked its decision of allowing scientific field trials of transgenic crops including indigenously developed Bt brinjal.
The central regulator, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), had last year allowed bio-safety research field trials of two new transgenic varieties of Bt brinjal in eight states - Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal – during 2020-23.

The Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and other groups had, however, subsequently submitted as many as seven representations to the Centre and different state governments, urging them not to give ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) for biosafety field trials of Bt brinjal.
Sharing basic details of these representation in Rajya Sabha, Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar in his written response to a Parliament question on Monday said, “It has been decided that proposals for field trials of GM crops, including Bt brinjal, will not be taken up for consideration in the GEAC without the recommendation of the concerned State/UT government.”
Besides submitting its representations against the scientific field trials of Bt brinjal to the Centre, the BKS had written to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu governments. Other NGOs including Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam too requested state governments not to give mandatory NOC for the field trials.
The GEAC in its order had asked the applicant to begin the trial only after taking NOC from states concerned and confirmation of availability of isolated stretch of land for this purpose. Field trial of GM crops is a mandatory requirement for applying for commercial release in future.

The BKS leaders, led by its general secretary Badri Narayan Chaudhary and organisational secretary Dinesh Kulkarni, had even met Javadekar last year, requesting him to revoke the GEAC’s order. They had in their representation argued that like any other GM crop, the new Bt Brinjal varieties too would be hazardous for soil and ultimately harm the farmers’ interests.
Presently, Bt cotton is the only GM crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in the country. In response to other Parliament question, the government in its written response said, “Long term studies conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research on the impact of Bt cotton cultivating states has not reported any adverse effect on soil, microflora and animal health.”
author
About the Author
Vishwa Mohan

Vishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.

End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA