Eminent personalities, citizen groups and environmental NGOs on Thursday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan to cancel the clearance given for field trials of GM crops in the State.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, four former Judges of the Supreme Court — Justice Sujata Manohar Justice MB Shah, Justice SN Variava and Justice BN Srikrishna and leading organisations, including Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Action for good Governance and Networking in India (AGNI) opposed the field trials of GM crops in various parts of the country, including Maharashtra.
The letter, released by former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi at a joint news conference here, questions the need for field trials of GM crops given by Veerappa Moily and Maharashtra Chief Minister, at a time when the Supreme Court is considering a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) report.
The TEC’ has recommended a moratorium on all field trials of GM crops. The letter points out that a ban on GM field trials was also unanimously recommended by a multi party Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture (PSCA) in 2012.
Among other things, the letter states that it is shocking that Maharashtra has granted clearance for 28 GM field trials for food items, including rice, wheat, maize and Brinjal. Maharashtra is one of only four states to have given permission, at least 9 States have refused permission.
The letter deplores the secret deliberations and the haste in giving clearances just before the elections. “Every citizen and every farmer must have the right to be free of GM if they wish. The Secretary Agriculture, GOI, admitted to the TEC that it will not be possible to segregate GM from non GM crops,” the letter states. The letter dwells upon concerns like the irreversibility, unpredictability and potential risks to health, environment, livelihoods and India’s seed sovereignty.