- News>
- India
Five states decide to prohibit release of GM seeds
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Karnataka have taken a decision to prohibit environmental release of all GM seeds.
New Delhi: Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala,
Uttarakhand and Karnataka have taken a decision to prohibit
environmental release of all genetically modified (GM) seeds,
Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
She said currently field trials have been allowed only in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Recently Rajasthan Government has conveyed its decision to withdraw the No Objection Certificate (NOC) which was issued to Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, University of Delhi for conduct of second season Biosafety Research Level (BRL-I) trial with GM Mustard in their state. Natarjan further stated that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has been approached by the Seed Industries, Ministry of Agriculture and Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) to reconsider its decision on the need of NOC from the State Government prior to the conduct of GM crop field trial.
The matter was discussed in the GEAC meeting held in December last year wherein it was recognized that issue of non-issuance of NOC by the State Government is mainly due to lack of clarity on the role State Government officials and lack of awareness on highly technical issues associated with biotechnology and biosafety measures, she said in a written reply.
It was also reiterated that the role of the State Government is very critical for compliance monitoring and therefore it is important to have a dialogue with the State Government to provide necessary clarification. Accordingly, it was agreed that the GEAC may give detailed presentations with a view to addressing the concerns of the State Government and throwing more light on its role, Natarajan said.
PTI
She said currently field trials have been allowed only in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Recently Rajasthan Government has conveyed its decision to withdraw the No Objection Certificate (NOC) which was issued to Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, University of Delhi for conduct of second season Biosafety Research Level (BRL-I) trial with GM Mustard in their state. Natarjan further stated that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has been approached by the Seed Industries, Ministry of Agriculture and Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) to reconsider its decision on the need of NOC from the State Government prior to the conduct of GM crop field trial.
The matter was discussed in the GEAC meeting held in December last year wherein it was recognized that issue of non-issuance of NOC by the State Government is mainly due to lack of clarity on the role State Government officials and lack of awareness on highly technical issues associated with biotechnology and biosafety measures, she said in a written reply.
It was also reiterated that the role of the State Government is very critical for compliance monitoring and therefore it is important to have a dialogue with the State Government to provide necessary clarification. Accordingly, it was agreed that the GEAC may give detailed presentations with a view to addressing the concerns of the State Government and throwing more light on its role, Natarajan said.
PTI