Bt Brinjal: High Court On Genetic Modified Crops

Bt Brinjal: High Court Moved On Genetic Modified Crop Issue: Ministry Of Environment Acting Illegally – Hemant Goswami

Chandigarh
February 5, 2010

The Punjab and Haryana High court was today moved by social activist Hemant Goswami for preventing the Ministry of Environment and Forest to approve genetically engineered and modified crops and vegetables. Goswami alleged that the “Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)” formed by the Ministry was an illegal body and provided an illegal backdoor entry to big corporate to off-load their genetically modified food without any proper scientific studies on impact on human beings. He further alleged, Ministry of Environment and Forests was the most non-technical and least relevant department of the Central Government to decide on the issues of Genetically engineered items and such arrangement suits the private corporate as it offers a path of least resistance to them.”

The petition filed by Goswami read, “The Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued a notification citing the provisions of Section 6, 8 and 25 of the ‘Environment (Protection) Act’ and brought into existence a Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, despite the fact that the scope of the Environment Protection Act or the GoI allocation of business rules or the Constitution did not in any way provide for formation or regulation of any such bodies.”

The petitioner further mentioned, “The Ministry of Environment also has no financial allocation or budget for the said committees; it also has no expertise and/or even relevant expert people to head such highly technical body where all members are by invitation who come for a few hours every two months. The invites to the virtual and temporary body of GEAC are not even asked to declare the conflict of interest. Even the Member Secretary of GEAC is having qualification and doctorate in Geology and not Genetics. She obtained her Ph.D. in ‘Adsorption studies on uptake of heavy metals by sediment components,’ and her Masters degree in, Applied Earth Science.”

“The 1989 rules under which GEAC functions have been made operational despite the fact that the principal Act, namely, The Environment (Protection) Act, did not even had the remotest scope for such rules. The rules have been made in utter violation of The Environment Act, Article 246 of the Constitution, Allocation of Business Rules, and other such provisions. On 23rd of August 2007, the Ministry of Environment and Forest issued another notification, S.O. 1519(E) under the Environment Protection Act vide which the Ministry did away with the necessary requirement of seeking approval and labelling requirements for companies selling, distributing or supplying edible or other products, food stuffs, ingredients in food stuffs and additives including processing aids which used genetically modified/engineered organisms or cells for its production/manufacturing,” the petition further mentioned.

Highlighting the irregularities, Goswami mentioned, “Packaging/labelling, health effect of foods, effect on human health, food safety, prevention of adulteration and toxicity, food quality and safety of food item does not fall under the preview of the Ministry of Environment, nor does it have the requisite resources, budget and technical qualification within the Ministry of Environment and Forests to handle such intricate, technical and important matters. Genetically modified and engineered food, articles, items and ingredients are known to be highly dangerous with untold and devastating effect on any life-form if not properly tested with multi-generation tests, evaluation and studies by regular experts of the specialised field in a neutral setting with no influence of the promoter of such products. Use of any life-form in such genetically engineered or modified food/articles/items also have the capacity to bring in untold miseries and fatal consequences on human race and all life-forms.”

Hemant Goswami said, “The job of undertaking work on genetically engineering issues or food or agriculture has not been given to the Ministry of Environment according to the business allocation orders of the President of India. Surprisingly still the Environment Ministry is handling the issue of genetical engineering and no body is objecting to it. There is not one genetic scientist in the Environment Ministry. Even under the List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution ‘Agriculture, including agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases’ comes as item 14 in the exclusive State list and the Union Government should not interfere in it without involving all the States as partners. What the Union Government is currently doing is treachery of highest order with the Constitution and the people of India. This should not go unpunished.”

The High Court kept the matter pending for February 22, 2010 after appreciating the details of another case on Bt Brinjal currently listed before the Supreme Court.

ENDS

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