GM trial case adjourned

The Supreme Court today adjourned hearing of a PIL seeking ban on open field trials of GM crops. The court was to hear the interim findings of a Technical Expert Committee appointed by it to assess the safety of GM crops in the case filed by activist Aruna Rodrigues against the Union of India.

The committee has recommended a ten year moratorium on field trials of  all GM crops citing need for sufficient time to put in place conditions to make the GM cultivation risk proof. It has sought a total overhaul of the regulatory agencies and procedures for GM approval and trials, and has also sought inclusion of long term animal trials lasting over the whole life term of the animal to assess the health impacts of GM crops on animals. A moratorium  has been in place following a decision take by the then Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh for the past two years.