Nitish urges PM to overrule clearance to GM mustard

Bihar CM says GM mustard is an herbicide tolerant crop, whose cultivation will force farmers to use select agro-chemical brands

Amid a contentious debate over the clearance given to GM mustard, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed his reservations over the issue. The Bihar CM also sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overrule the technical approval given by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) considering its ill effects on human health.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Kumar expressed apprehension that approval to GM mustard would open a gate to several genetically modified food crops such as GM rice, maize, brinjal, wheat, tomato, being developed by public as well private research bodies. These crops are at various stages of the approval process. Therefore, he sought PMO's intervention to immediately overrule the clearance to GM mustard seeds given by a technical panel of the GEAC.

Kumar said GM mustard was an herbicide tolerant (HT) crop and any gene making the plant resistant to an herbicide locks farmers into using select brands of agro-chemicals. "It is unclear why this herbicide tolerant (HT) GM mustard, which seeks to promote itself as a hybridisation technology, is even being considered by the Government of India when we already have non-GM hybrids available?" the Bihar CM wondered.

He said, "I had already written to Union forest minister in January, 2016 pointing out that when the interested parties have failed to win the confidence of the farmers of the country, they are pushing the technology through public institutions. It is surprising that this so called public sector GM mustard came into being a year after a MNC's GM mustard was rejected by the Indian regulators."

Strongly opposing genetic modification of crops, the Bihar Chief Minister told the Prime Minister that Bt cotton, which had been cultivated in the country for 15 years now demonstrated amply that GM was a failed technology.

Reminding the PM about stress given by him on cooperative federalism and need to uphold federal policy, Kumar said, "This issue of GM crops is an important area where this has to be demonstrated urgently."

"If the Government of India approves GM crops such as GM mustard which is an important crop for states like Bihar, the state will not be able to escape the consequences of the technology as we are also the leading producer of honey in India and honey production depends on mustard crop," he said.

"The government of India should mandatorily consult and seek no objection from the state government before conducting field trials of any GM crop," Kumar urged Modi. He also sought the Prime Minister's intervention to see that the attempt to commercially release genetically modified mustard variety in the country should not proceed any further without prior consultation and consent of the states.