New delhi, February 08: Close to three days from Monday, the government will decide on perhaps the most vital issue confronting Indian agriculture after the Green Revolution, when it takes a call on allowing commercial application of India’s first genetically modified food crop, Bt brinjal.
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s seven-city tour to evolve a consensus on the crop yielded little as wide protests and demonstrations by groups against introduction of genetically modified crops marked his visit in almost all the cities. On chaos, anger and repartees marked the seventh and final public hearing on Bt brinjal in Bangalore.
Meanwhile, adding to Ramesh’s discomfiture, the Andhra Pradesh government joined Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu in seeking a postponement of commercial cultivation of the controversial GM product.
Last week, Uttarakhand became the first state to ban Bt brinjal even as the government’s decision on the issue was awaited. Ramesh said that the government would announce its decision on introduction of Bt brinjal by February 10.
“Keeping in view the sensitive nature of Uttarakhand and its diversities, which have to be protected, we have to remain watchful against crops like Bt brinjal.
We have decided to ban farming of Bt brinjal in the state,” chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said. Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has also sought deferment of release of Bt brinjal till “the issue is thoroughly examined from all angles taking into account the views of all the stakeholders and conducting a long-term research for its bio-safety and its consequent contribution to food security and farmers’ well being”. Orissa agriculture minister Damodar Rout also opposed it.
After the government’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) gave green signal to the commercial introduction of Bt brinjal in October 2009, the environment and forests ministry decided to hold a series of public consultations. GEAC had accepted the recommendation of a special committee set up to study bio-safety data on Bt brinjal.
The criticisms against Bt brinjal are that, if permitted, it would destroy the bio diversity of the country and would open the ‘flood gates’ for several other GM food crops that are under various stages of field trials.
Bt Brinjal has been produced by inserting a toxin gene, Cry 1 Ac, from a soil bacterium called bacillus thuringenesis (Bt) into brinjal plant using the technique of genetic engineering.
Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company is developing the food crop with technological assistance from US-based Monsanto. The company claimed that by producing the toxin, the plant would be able to kill a major insect pest, fruit and shoot borer, in brinjal.
—-Agencies