Apprehending that commercial cultivation of GM herbicide tolerant (HT) mustard will jeopardize human health, environment, livelihoods and trade security on numerous fronts, panelists at a press conference on Monday urged the Supreme Court to immediately pass orders to “uproot and destroy” GM mustard crop planted in multiple sites, in defiance of Court orders.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, they accused the government of misleading the apex court during hearings on GM mustard, noting that the matter concerns “serious implications for the life and livelihoods of all citizens of the country”.
The media interaction came a day ahead of the hearing by the top court of the GM HT mustard, its need and safety.
They charged the government with violating its own undertaking before the apex court by getting the mustard seeds planted at six locations around the first of November this year. This means that in just about a week’s time, the pollen from GM mustard will start contaminating non-GM mustard fields with transgenes including male sterility and herbicide-tolerant traits, they feared.
A press release issued by the group countered the government’s claims on five counts.
“It is imperative that GM mustard that has been planted has to be uprooted immediately, to prevent irreversible and irreparable damage to our mustard diversity. We urge the Supreme Court to take this matter seriously, with all the attention it deserves in terms of the ramifications from the irresponsible actions of GoI,” said Kapil Shah of Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA).
Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for a GM-Free India said, “We can list at least five areas where the Govt of India is actively providing incorrect information to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.”
Dr Dhiraj Singh, former Director of ICAR’s Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research (DRMR), said, “India’s production of rapeseed-mustard has increased by around 38 per cent in the past decade. We are self-sufficient when it comes to mustard oil demand and supply, even as only 15 per cent of India’s edible oil consumption is from mustard.”
“Further, farmers already have more than a dozen non-GM mustard hybrid options in the market which are well-performing, and higher-yielding than GM hybrid. Agronomic research results are also promising with significant improvements in yields,” he said.
“In such a context, where is the need for GM mustard?” he wondered.
Kumar Prashant, President of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, said that the vision for agricultural development should be holistic, scientific and empowering to the farmers through real Swaraj for them.
“Manipulating scientific facts does not bode well for improving the scientific temper in the country,” he said, while urging the SC to take cognizance of the facts and ensure that the GM mustard plots that have already been planted are uprooted immediately.
Dharamvir Singh, a farmer leader, shared the letter sent to the Prime Minister signed by over 40 farmer leaders across India requesting the stopping of the environmental release of GM HT mustard. He too demanded uprooting the crop wherever it has been planted.