Withdraw BRAI bill: Greenpeace to Centre

An environmental NGO today asked the government to withdraw the controversial Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill, which aims at introducing genetically modified food crops in the country, and bring in a law to protect and enhance bio-safety.
"In light of the controversy around the bill and its potential to impact all of us and future generations, we urge you, as the minister in charge, to withdraw the BRAI bill and work with other relevant ministries to bring in a bio-safety law," NGO Greenpeace said in a letter to Science and Technology Minister Jaipal Reddy.
The BRAI bill, which seeks to establish a statutory independent regulator for biotech sector covering research, transport, import, manufacture and use of organisms and products of modern biotechnology, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The bill, which has been on the drafting board for years and had run into stiff opposition from green activists, was introduced by Reddy.
In its letter, Greenpeace alleged the bill was drafted in a "secretive fashion with no opportunity for the general public to comment" on a legislation that deals with something as important as food safety.
"It is unfortunate that this is happening despite the strong recommendation from a Parliamentary standing committee on Agriculture against such a regulation with a limited mandate," it said.

Introducing the bill, Reddy had said it was being done within the legislative competence of Parliament.

According to the bill, the proposed regulator would be a nodal agency of the government to ensure comprehensive safety assessment of organisms and products of modern biotechnology. The commercialisation of biotechnology products in agriculture and healthcare would be subject to all other laws for the time being in force.
As per the bill, the biotech regulator would regulate trials preceding the clinical trials in the health sector and the present mechanism for regulating clinical trials would continue.