Opposition to GM crops based on unfounded fears: Govt
The opposition by green groups to genetically modified (GM) crops is unfounded as India is already importing and consuming oil derived from it, the Union Government has informed the Supreme Court in an affidavit.
Team RuralVoice
The opposition by green groups to genetically modified (GM) crops is unfounded as India is already importing and consuming oil derived from it, the Union Government has informed the Supreme Court in an affidavit.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) submitted before the apex court that the average prices of refined palm oil, soy oil and mustard oil were increasing continuously and India needed to be independent in oil production to meet the domestic consumption demand.
The ministry told the top court that mustard was the most important oil and seed meal crop of India, grown in around 8-9mn hectares of land and the approval for the "environmental" release of transgenic mustard hybrid, DMH-11, had been given after a long and exhaustive review process.
"As India is importing and consuming oil derived from GM crops, opposition to such (technologies) based on unfounded fears will only hurt the farmers, consumers and the industry," the affidavit said.
The affidavit was filed in response to a plea against the decision of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to approve GM mustard for commercial cultivation.
The MoEF&CC further stated that cotton grown in the country was a GM crop and India annually produced around 9.5mn tonnes of cotton seed and 1.2mn tonnes of cotton oil.
The affidavit said GM mustard hybrid had shown increased per-hectare yield by 25 per cent to 30 per cent over the traditional varieties and would help reduce India's dependence on other countries.
The top court had earlier ordered status quo on GEAC's decision to approve GM mustard for commercial cultivation. It asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to ensure that "no precipitative action is taken" until an application filed before it in this regard is heard.
The GEAC, which functions under the Union environment ministry, has recommended the environmental release of GM mustard, which, according to experts, paves the way for its commercial cultivation. The move comes amid opposition from green groups, which say commercial cultivation of GM mustard could have an adverse impact on human health and food security.
According to the minutes of the October 18 meeting, the GEAC, the country's regulator for genetically-modified organisms, recommended the "environmental release of mustard hybrid DMH-11 for its seed production and testing as per existing ICAR guidelines and other extant rules and regulations before commercial release".
The transgenic mustard hybrid, DMH-11, has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) at Delhi University.
