TIRUCHI

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister not to give no-objection certificate for taking up field trials of Bt brinjal in the State.

To our surprise, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee(GEAC) has recently granted permission to undertake Biosafety Research Level (BRL) - II tests of Bt brinjal, a genetically modified (GM) crop in your State. The trials are also allowed in some other States, N.S.Parthasarathy, State general secretary, BKS, said in a representation to Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami.

Condemning it as an unilateral decision of the committee, Mr.Parthasarathy sought to draw the attention of Mr. Palaniswami to the developments pertaining to the field trials of GM crops, including brinjal in the country.

There are several serious issues such as environmental pollution, human health, productivity and market monopolisation, which need to be addressed before allowing such trials of GM crops, Mr.Parthasarathy said.

Objections from almost stakeholders over the past few decades are yet to be satisfactorily answered. Furthermore, most of the prestigious institutions, including parliamentary standing committee, the technical expert committee of Supreme Court, views of eminent scientists and representatives from agriculturally important states have expressed their apprehensions over the trials. Many States have even banned GM food crops/ trials.

GAEC is party to the miserable failure of Bt cotton technology and illegal perpetuation of herbicide tolerant cotton. Under such circumstances the decision of GEAC is autocratic but also appears to be taken with some ulterior motive, he charged.

It was also sad that GAEC was trying to test GM crops in the field when the country was in the grip of the pandemic.

The BKS was raising awareness about the hazards of the technology and it is our earnest request to the Government not to allow the testing of GM crops in general and Bt Brinjal in particular within Tamil Nadu in the interest of entire farming community and consumers, Mr.Parthasarathy said and urged the Chief Minister to deny NOC to any agency for conducting field trials of GM crops and remain vigilant to check any unethical trials in the State.

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BKS urges CM not to permit trials of Bt brinjal - The Hindu