CHENNAI: VCK general secretary and MP D Ravikumar on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the approval given for the introduction of herbicide-tolerant genetically modified mustard in India.
Ravikumar, in his letter to the prime minister, pointed out that the herbicide-tolerant GM mustard could potentially lead to increased use of herbicide glufosinate, resulting in soil and water contamination, posing a threat to biodiversity. The conditions imposed in the approval letter may be legally untenable for farmers, and criminalising farmers after government approval of an HT crop seems inappropriate.
Ravikumar said it’s important to consider that all five independent scientists of the Supreme Court’s Technical Expert Committee had unanimously recommended a ban on HT crops in India for valid reasons, and parliamentary standing committees have made similar recommendations.
Referring to the objections raised by Chief Minister MK Stalin for GM mustard in the past, Ravikumar also pointed out that the approval for the environmental release of HT GM mustard has been given bypassing the states’ constitutional authority in decision-making on such crucial policy decisions.