The Hindu Business Line : ‘Two genetics related panels violate norms, lack quorum’

Hyderabad, May 29 The Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, a Hyderabad-based NGO, has alleged that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the apex Government agency, has violated norms as it took some important decisions.

Dr Ramanjaneyulu, Executive Director of the centre, said both the GEAC and Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) didn’t conform to procedures in certain cases.

“The 80th meeting of GEAC, for instance, had only six out of the 29 members present when some crucial decisions were taken in October 2007,” he said, quoting details the centre secured under the Right to Information Act.

“There were also two representatives from the Ministry of Food Processing Industry and ICAR, which are not designated constituents of the GEAC. It lacks quorum,” he alleged.

“It was in this meeting that a limited field research trial of transgenic tomato by IARI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute) was approved. Interestingly, one of the six members that attended the meeting was from IARI. GEAC also allowed Bt Rice and GM potato trials for Rabi 2007 in this meeting. These decisions were illegal as there was no quorum in the meeting,” he said here in a statement.

Similarly, the 61st meeting of the RCGM held in December 2007 had only nine members present out of the 31 members listed on www.dbtbiosafety.nic.in. GEAC, in turn, depended on RCGM decisions and recommendations.

“The GEAC apparently has no quorum legally laid down for its meetings and the RCGM too admits that there is no official record or notification in this regard. The RCGM adopted one-third members’ presence as the quorum requirement as most official meetings have that norm,” the statement said.

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