 "APEDA rues delay in traditional basmati growers' protection by MP govt")
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had yesterday written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard and expressed his dismay. Chouhan in his letter has alleged that APEDA, which has the mandate of promoting export of agriculture produce, has succumbed to certain vested interests of Northern India.
"Acting against its own mandate and under bogey of WTO (World Trade Organisation) and international courts, it has filed an appeal against GI order dated December 31, 2013, thereby hurting the legal and legitimate rights of farmers of Madhya Pradesh. It implies that APEDA has apparently no objection to Basmati rice grown in Pakistan but has definite objection to include Madhya Pradesh as Basmati cultivation area," Chouhan strongly protested the move, through his letter.
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However Apeda clarified, "GI is for protection of traditional Basmati rice growers and not for all new entries. Madhya Pradesh is a new entry. The intervention and debate will delay the GI registration process and would dilute our protection process to the traditional basmati rice growers," AK Gupta, advisor WTO to Apeda told BS via telephone.
Another expert in IPR cited an example and said, "If Punjab, Delhi or Haryana weavers start making Chanderi sarees and claim for GI registration, would it not hurt the traditional weavers of Chanderi, which is an exclusivity of Madhya Pradesh?"
The Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai, in January this year has asked Apeda to file an amended application while allowing oppositions from Madhya Pradesh.
Originally in November 2008, the Apeda filed the application for GI registration seeking GI protection for India's basmati (fragrant long grain) rice for granting more protection to the traditional cultivators of the rice variety in the country.
It had sought exclusive use of the "Basmati" tag for the commodity grown within the boundaries of the Indo-Gangetic plain particularly in India's northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, HP, few districts of Jammu & Kashmir and some districts of western Uttar Pradesh.
Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, APEDA is the designated custodian of GI rights for Indian basmati rice.
Madhya Pradesh department of farmer welfare and agriculture development and Basmati growers association filed a petition with the GI Registry stating that basmati rice is also grown in Madhya Pradesh and should be included in APEDA's GI protection application.
The GI registration in Chennai had ordered Apeda to include Madhya Pradesh in its GI registry application in January.