Agro Security Bill has clauses from AFSPA

AA bill to prevent bio-terrorism, trans-boundary genetic diseases and pests introduced in the parliament on Monday has adopted a clause straight from the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), providing immunity to any official, engaged in any experimentation of introducing genetically modified seeds or otherwise, resulting in the destruction of crop or swarming of pests etc, against any judicial or investigative proceeding. According to section 74 of the agricultural biosecurity bill, no prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie against the government or any member of proposed authority or officers or other employees of the central government for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this act.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar introduced the bill, that also envisages setting up an authority to secure agricultural biosecurity of the country and prevent, control, eradicate and manage pests and diseases of plants, animals, marine (fish) and microorganism. The proposed law says, dimension of such threats has grown manifold in view of the advances in the genetic engineering to release living modified organisms or their products like genetically modified (GM) plants and organisms that ordinary farmers or the present government machinery cannot even realise until immense harm is infected.

Pawar said it is not that such threats have gone unchallenged as a score of systems have been developed over the years and they are in place for protection of plant, animal and marine health, but they need major changes to meet the unknown challenges and biosecurity threats that require policies and technological capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to such threats. The Bill seeks to address them.

There are plants that may cause a permanent damage to not only agriculture as happened with the harmful weeds spreading in many parts of the country from the imported seeds, but they also have potential of immense harm to the human health, necessitating a law to set up an authority to deal with all such problems.

The autonomous authority will have experts from various concerned ministries like defence, home, agriculture, health, rural development, science, commerce and agriculture. Officials said the authority will improve safety, efficiency, transparency and compliance of quarantine and pest management regulations and respond swiftly to any new biosecurity problem.

The government decided to secure the country from the lurking dangers from the liberalisation of the global trade in agriculture because of the past experience of many plant diseases, including weeds such as Parthenium, Phalaris minor and Lanatana camara, getting established and causing havoc in terms of enormous economic losses every year. India has been already under constant threat from the  spread of transboundary diseases such as the avian influenza and the Ug-99 wheat stem rust fungus.

The Bill envisages that the authority, basically meant to safeguard India's agricultural economy, will have adequate powers to cover the four sectors of agricultural biosecurity, viz. plant health, animal health, living aquatic resources (fisheries, etc.) and agriculturally important micro-organisms. The authority will also meet international obligations of India for facilitating imports and exports of plants, plant products, animals, animal products, aquatic organisms and regulation of agriculturally important micro organisms.

Officials said the liberalisation has opened doors for the increased risk of introduction of exotic pests and weeds in the country with the potential to cause serious economic losses. The GM seeds and organisms specially require proper risk assessment assessment and management. The bill also equips the country to meet obligations under international trade and sanitary and phytosanitary agreements in food and agricultural products.