HYDERABAD: The Telangana government informed the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday that the Centre had proposed to fix the maximum sale price for Bt cotton seeds in the country.
Supreme Court senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for the Telangana government, made this submission before a bench comprising acting chief justice Dilip B Bhosale and justice P Naveen Rao which was hearing an appeal by the Telangana government challenging an order of a single judge staying the decision of the government to fix Rs 50 as royalty per packet of Bt cotton seeds.
Earlier, the single judge had granted the stay order while dealing with a petition by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Pvt Ltd challenging a GO issued by the Telangana government fixing Rs 50 as royalty on each packet of Bt cotton seeds. Vaidyanathan told on Tuesday that the Centre was to notify the maximum sale price and the state was expecting it soon. With the help of the stay order, Monsanto and its Indian partner companies were playing havoc with the lives of farmers by having exorbitant cotton seed prices. He alleged that Monsanto was collecting Rs 2,200 per pack of Bt cotton seeds. Though the price of the seed is only Rs 400, the royalty or trait value is Rs 1,800. In view of these facts, the Centre proposed to fix a maximum sale price for Bt cotton seed, he added. The matter has been posted to March 22.
