NEW DELHI: An environment ministry committee has given a go ahead for commercialization of GM Mustard, country’s first transgenic food crop, and now a final call will be taken by Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave.
The decision was taken in the ministry’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) meeting held Thursday. The commercial release of GM Mustard has been objected by several civil society groups, farmers organization, including Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Bt cotton, a non food crop, is the only transgenic crop cultivated in the country.
The mustard hybrid, DMH-11 was developed by Delhi University former Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental led Centre for Genetic Manipulation and Crop Plants (CGMCP). The application was submitted to GEAC in 2015 and a sub-committee was constituted in February 2016 to look into safety issues concerning transgenic mustard. The committee’s report was put in public domain for suggestions.
In 2010, a moratorium was put on commercial release of Bt Brinjal by the then environment minister Jairam Ramesh following several concerns raised by farmers, scientists and civil society groups.
“The committee met today and deliberated upon the report of the sub-subcommittee submitted again after incorporating suggestions. It was decided to recommend GM Mustard for commercial release,” said Additional Secretary in the ministry Amita Prasad.
Prasad said that some conditions have been put on the developer and now the final decision will come from environment minister.
The sub-committee in its initial report had said that GM mustard is safe for consumption and environment and does not raise any public health concerns for human beings and animals.
Interestingly, BJP in run upto the 2014 elections, had clarified that they would not allow GM crops without proper scientific investigation.
Civil society groups have been opposing clearance to the GM Mustard on several grounds including serious concerns with male sterility and herbicide tolerance and inadequate testing.
Sarson Satyagraha, a broad platform of hundreds of organisations representing farmers, consumers, scientists has condemned the green signal provided by GEAC to herbicide tolerant GM mustard today.
"GEAC has proven yet again that it is unscientific and uncaring with regard to citizens' health and environment. They have failed in their very mandate and purpose for which they have been created, to protect citizens from risks of GMOs,” said the coalition in a statement.
Kavitha Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), a nationwide informal network of more than 400 organizations said that we have shown how this GM mustard dossier was rigged for favourable results, how it is an unneeded GMO, how it will increase chemicals in our food and farms because it is a herbicide tolerant GMO.