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What Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily had earlier okayed were the field trials cleared in the 116th and 117th meeting of GEAC held last year. "In the coming meeting, the minutes of the old meeting will have to be approved again by GEAC, after which it will be sent to the minister again for approval. Following this, state government clearances are also required to go ahead with the field trials," a ministry official said.
In the past, many state governments where the trials have to be conducted did not give the mandatory No-Objection Certificate to the institutes, firms and companies in question. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala have earlier opposed any GM trials and are expected to maintain their stand.
"Proper security measures will be taken and state clearances will be mandatory, along with GEAC clearances," Moily said. He said though a case was on in the Supreme Court on the issue, there was no embargo on field trials.
The apex court had set up a six-member technical expert panel, which had suggested an indefinite moratorium on field trials till a proper regulatory mechanism was in place. The environment and agricultural ministries are set to file an affidavit pleading for field trials of GM crops.
Officials said of the crops tipped to get a final nod for trials, maize and mustard are in states which have opposed GM trials; so is rice. In 2012, the Rajasthan government had burnt the crop after allowing field trials, due to its allegedly harmful effects.
"It is entirely the prerogative of the state government to allow field trial of GM crops or not, though it might have been okayed by GEAC," said Rajesh Krishnan, convener of Coalition for GM-Free India. The crops slated for final clearance in the next meeting of GEAC are of rice, wheat, maize, mustard, potato, brinjal, tomato, groundnut, sorghum, castor and cotton.
A spokesperson for Monsanto, the multinational biotechnology company,said, "The seed biotechnology industry awaits communication on the date for the GEAC meeting. Agriculture research is an intensive multi-year process." The functioning of GEAC in a timely manner wwould research trials in the coming kharif season, he noted. He said about Rs 10,000 crore was currently invested in agricultural biotechnology in India.
Companies have to face a three-tier clearance system. In the first stage, any research on GM crops has to be sent for approval of the Institutional Bio-Safety Committee (IBSC). After IBSC approves, it is sent to the Regional Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), also under the department of biotechnology but an independent authority. In the third and final stage, after the RCGM approves the trials, these are sent to GEAC for final approval.
Precautions
Officials from the department of agriculture claimed elaborate safety precautions were followed while conducting field trials. K C Bansal from the National Bureau of Plant Genetics Research said the field where the trials are conducted are enclosed in barbed wire and was under 24-hour security surveillance. The gate would be locked and a board is placed, clearly defining details of the trials, permit number, letter from the department and other bodies. "When the experiment is over, full precautions are taken; a pit is built along the field, where the crop is burnt and buried, to ensure there is no spread of toxicity," he said.
During the period when the crop is in the field, a compliance and monitoring team regularly visits and a register is maintained of people who enter the enclosed area. "The materials used for field trials like pesticides are also stored in closed enclosures and their record maintained," Bansal said.
The decision by the ministry to go ahead with the field trials could allow 200 such varieties, including in rice, wheat, maize, castor and cotton, in the longer run.
