‘GEAC bypassing States’ right to take a call on GMO trials’: Activists

Anti Genetically-Modified Organism (GMO) activists have alleged that the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the premier Central regulator that considers and decides on allowing or not allowing trials in genetic-engineering trials in the country, is subverting States’ right to take a call on the issue.

They allege that the GEAC and the Centre are employing different methods to bypass the requirement by companies to get a no-objection certificate from the respective State governments before going ahead with their trials in those States.

The near-deregulation of two categories of Genome Edited Organisms is one such ploy, they said.

In a letter addressed to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, they said that the near-deregulation (no approval needed from the GEAC) of gene-edited crops. “Without widespread consultations, or without looking into a large convincing body of scientific evidence, the Government of India went ahead and deregulated both these genome-edited crops,” they said in the letter.

They contended that these genome-edited crops are GM crops too as per the statutory definition in the country, and “are equally risky to the environment and citizens as transgenic GM crops are.”

GM crops, as well as genome-edited crops, might cause irreversible and uncontrollable environmental release if they are allowed to be grown either in the form of field trials or commercial cultivation.

“Such an open-air deliberate release poses many risks of contamination and uncontrolled proliferation of GMOs, and this is more so in our country where risk assessment by the Government of India’s regulator GEAC stands compromised in numerous ways.”

“Several State governments have taken explicit policy decisions on not allowing any GM (food) crops in their states. Notwithstanding the opposition, open-air trials are being approved in different states by the GEAC.

“Such approvals are being given bypassing the state governments’ policy positions. The GEAC should be told not to approve any open-air releases of GMOs in states which have a GM-free policy position,” they said in the letter.

The letter, signed by Rythu Swarjya Vedika, cited the example of GM mustard planting that had happened without the NOCs.

“The GEAC approved planting of GM mustard in six locations in Rabi 2022, without obtaining NOCs from the respective State Governments. Planting took place in some State Agricultural Universities also,” the letter said.

Demanding the Union Government withdraw the approval for the environmental release of GM mustard, they asked the Chief Minister to reiterate its stand on the issue. “The State Government would not be able to stop the flooding of GM mustard seeds from across other state borders, even if no licenses are issued by it,” they said.

They also called for halt to open-air release of GMOs in any form. It also asked the Government not to compromise on the clause that the companies should get a NOC to start trials in the State.

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