In a bid to end the impasse and have the moratorium on Bt brinjal lifted, the Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, as also several concerned ministries and departments, that have a say in commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops.
According to a report in Business Line, it has strongly urged them to accept the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) made on October 14, 2009, on the safety of Bt brinjal, lift the moratorium with immediate effect and release it for commercial cultivation without delay.
The memorandum signed by 40 scientists has also asked the government to ensure that the research and development activity of the other GM crops under development is not jeopardized by unwarranted interruption and to ensure that the GEAC is allowed to carry out its mandate unhindered until the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India becomes fully operational.
The Foundation said that its plea was based on broad scientific consensus on the safety of Bt brinjal following a scientific workshop conducted in New Delhi on July 28. The ministry of environment and forests was influenced more by opponents of agricultural biotechnology than by credible support of bio-security experts, the Foundation has alleged, adding that the moratorium has created a regulatory uncertainty on the development of all GM crops in the country.
Arguing that no new tests are necessary as the product efficacy, bio-safety and environmental safety of Bt brinjal were evaluated for seven years and thoroughly reviewed by many experts, the Foundation has demanded an urgent and definitive action from the government to resolve the uncertainty caused by the moratorium and rescue the Indian Agricultural biotechnology from the present impasse.
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