Govt support for GM crops despite RSS objection
SC AFFIDAVIT Says curbs on field trials harm ‘competitiveness’ of the country’s public-funded agriculture programmes
NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government has unequivocally backed genetically modified (GM) food crops to modernise India’s farm sector, despite opposition from its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre said curbs by the top court on field trials of GM crops harmed the “competitiveness” of the country’s public-funded agriculture programmes as well as negatively impacted private investments.
The affidavit by the environment ministry spells out the NDA government’s stand on research into and the use of GM technologies, which is in line with the stance of previous governments on biotech in agriculture, a hotly debated issue.
The top court is hearing a petition by activist Aruna Rodrigues to ban commercial release of GM mustard. Rodrigues accused the government of defying its Technical Expert Committee (TEC) report that had concluded the regulatory mechanism in India was in a shambles and had recommended a 10-year moratorium on field trials of GM crops. The report came out in 2009. The SC has stayed the commercial release of GM mustard. India imported `68,000 crore worth of edible oil in 2015-16, the government told the court.
“Ideally, this amount should have been earned by our farmers. Strengthening of plant breeding programmes, including use of new technology such as GM, is critical for meeting emerging challenges in Indian agriculture,” it said.
India relies on huge imports to meet the domestic demand for nearly 20 million tonnes of cooking oil annually. In 2015-16, the country imported about 15 million tonnes. India’s mustard oil output hovers around 26 lakh tonnes a year and is expected to reach 34 lakh tonnes by 2020. The cost — `68,000 crore — is nearly three times the budget for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan — the country’s flagship primary education programme. The affidavit did not provide a breakup of the varieties of edible oil imports.
The Centre told the SC it was committed to increasing farm productivity, farmer incomes through development of low input-high output agriculture and making the country self sufficient in edible oil and grain legumes. An effective statutory regime was in place and there would be no compromise with the safety parameters, it added.
Presenting the affidavit before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi assured that the Centre will not go ahead with the commercial release until the court allowed it. He said the proposal for GM mustard came from Delhi University scientists and was the first publicly developed GM food crop. The court agreed to hear him after four weeks.
The Centre’s affidavit said the report of the apex regulatory authority was put up on the website of the environment ministry and public comments were invited.
Twenty-nine people personally inspected the dossier and 759 responses were received, which the regulator was assessing.
Rodrigues, the government said, was working against national and public interest. She did not participate in the consultation process and, instead, lobbied with other political parties to stall GM mustard.
Analysts say the PM, unlike the RSS, is keen on a high-technology push into agriculture. In a meeting Modi held in August, he called upon three cabinet ministers and four top bureaucrats to coordinate their efforts to ensure a rigorous and speedy assessment of GM mustard.
Ashwani Mahajan, co-convener of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch — an RSS affiliate spearheading the campaign against genetically engineered crops — said they were one with the government on the need to increase yield of crops but did not agree that GM varieties alone could do it.
“We have been iterating that there are many hybrid varieties of mustard that give a better yield than the ones being used now and even GM mustard,” he said.
He added that using GM mustard would destroy biodiversity.