No decision yet on field trials of GM crops: Govt

A day after two RSS-linked outfits met Prakash Javadekar and claimed the field trials of genetically-modified crops has been put on hold, the environment minister today clarified that no decision has been taken in this regard as yet.
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.

Representatives of Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Bhartiya Kissan Sangh had met Javadekar yesterday and sought a ban on field trials of GM crops of certain varieties of rice, brinjal and cotton among others.
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.

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'.

The Manch and Sangh members told the Minister that it is "not advisable" to allow GM crops without proper scientific evaluation about their probable long-term impact on human health and soil.
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.

The two organisations are closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).