No question of lifting moratorium on Bt Brinjal: Ramesh
By IANSMonday, September 27, 2010
NEW DELHI - Rejecting the report of the country’s top six academies recommending limited release of Bt Brinjal, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Monday said it did not reflect the views of the larger scientific community.
He also said that none of the states were in favour of lifting the moratorium on genetically modified crops.
The environment ministry in March had asked the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Engineering, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, National Academy of Medical Sciences and National Academy of Sciences (India) to submit a report on GM crops.
The academies submitted the report to the ministry last week.
An advocacy group ‘Coalition for GM Free India’ Saturday alleged that the report of the academies was plagiarised from an article ‘Bt Brinjal: A Pioneering Push’ in Biotech News - a publication of the Department of Biotechnology written by Anand Kumar, a supporter of Bt brinjal.
“My idea of referring the GM crops to academics was to get a view of the larger scientific community but not the view of one Anand Kumar which I knew even before the moratorium was put on Bt Brinjal,” said Ramesh.
“Since February I have not heard from even one state wanting to revoke moratorium on Bt Brinjal. Even the most aggressive anti-NGO state in India, Gujarat, did not want Bt Brinjal,” he said.
The ministry had imposed moratorium on release of Bt brinjal on Feb 9.
