Kolkata, November 19: The West Bengal government today expressed concern at the Centre”s proposal to allow commercial cultivation of genetically-modified Bt-brinjal, saying this had the potential to threaten bio-diversity, destabilise ecosystems and limit future agricultural possibilities. “There are clear reasons to be concerned about ”gene spills” or the contamination of lanraces by the engineered variety.
This means that it has the potential to threaten bio- diversity, destabilise important ecosystems and limit the future agricultural possibilities in a region,” Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in a letter to Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh. In a letter on November 10, Ramesh had sought the state government”s views on the commercial cultivation of BT-brinjal.
Bhattacharjee said with genetic engineering introducing the possibilities of physiologic or biochemical effects on the target varieties, there remained vital questions of the impact of genetically–modified crops on human health. “The current generations of commercially available crops also raise concerns linked to pesticide uses as BT crops are designed to internally create their own pesticides.
–PTI–