Javadekar said that the government respects "science" and maintained that although a recommendation from the biotech regulator had come, his ministry is yet to take any decision.
"We always respect science. A recommendation has come from an expert panel. The ministry takes decisions through a process. The decision on it has not been taken presently. This is the reality. When any decision is taken, we will tell you," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting.
They had claimed that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee's (GEAC) recent clearance for field trials of GM crops has been "put on hold" and had also apprised the minister of their concerns about the issue.
The GEAC had earlier this month cleared 15 proposals for confined field trials for rice, brinjal, chickpea, mustard and cotton.
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The delegation had reminded the Minister that Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in its report on GM food crops - prospects and impacts, tabled in Parliament on August 9, 2013 has clearly recommended the 'stopping of all field trials under any garb'.
Javadekar had yesterday confirmed about the meeting but asserted that the government has not taken any decision on the contentious issue.
"Government has not taken any decision on the issue. Government will not take any decision in haste," he had said.
Both the outfits had said that "the technology, which involves introducing a 'foreign' gene, is dangerous because once introduced, it is irreversible.... Once you have a GM crop, you cannot reverse the process if you find that it is causing harm," they had said.