The state governments that have openly spoken against the Centre’s decision are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.
A month away from the first public consultation on Bt brinjal, at least six state governments have now openly started talking against the Centre’s decision to release the first genetically modified food crop to farmers and have decided against implementing it.
The state governments that have openly spoken against the Centre’s decision are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. Activists expect more state governments to oppose the decision once public consultations on the topic end in February.
Soon after the ministry of environment and forests decided to release the food crop to farmers in October last year, activists and farmers started campaigning against the decision. Their protests forced the Centre to hold the decision and start public consultations with scientists, activists, farmers and citizens. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) had approved the release of the food crop to farmers.
Bt brinjal is being promoted by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) along with University of Agriculture Sciences, Dharwad, and Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore. The GEAC is the only authority that can recommend clearance of such crops but the final decision is taken by the environment and forest ministry. Although Delhi has been kept away from the public consultations on the issue, the Sheila Dikshit government has written a letter to the PM, raising its concern.
Sources said though Dikshit is not openly talking against the decision, the Delhi government wants to be heard because most of the vegetables are not grown in the city and are sourced from neighbouring states.
Interestingly, all the states that have spoken against Bt brinjal are non-Congress states. Delhi has proved to be an exception.
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