Govt. to hold public consultations on Bt brinjal in January

Govt. to hold public consultations on Bt brinjal in January

New Delhi: The Environment and Forests Ministry will hold a series of public hearing on genetically modified brinjal or the Bt brinjal, which was recently cleared for commercial cultivation by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) amidst strong protest by environmentalists and activists.

The Ministry will call the first public consultation in Kolkata on January 13. The next hearing will be held in Bhubaneshwar on January 16 and the third in Ahmedabad on January 19.

The fourth public hearing will be held in Hyderabad (January 22), fifth in Bangalore (January 23), sixth in Nagpur (January 27) and the seventh in Chandigarh (January 30).

Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh had to promise public consultations over the introduction of Bt brinjal after environmentalists lodged a massive protest over the decision accusing the Government of siding with the interest of multinational corporation Mahyco that has developed the variety.

He had also said the Government would formally approve the commercial cultivation after discussing its scientific, bio-safety and licencing issues with the stakeholders.

Bt brinjal, if finally approved, will become the country's first GM food crop. The genetically-engineered brinjal produces a pesticide to tackle the pest that destroys the crop.

The first GM crop Bt cotton was approved way back in 2002 amid strong resistance from environmentalists.

Bt brinjal was cleared by the GEAC after two rounds of trials conducted at 11 sites across the country under the supervision of state agriculture universities and ICAR institutes without involving any private firms.