Vibha Sharma
New Delhi, November 28
Accusing the BJP-led Centre of “actively putting in untrue and incorrect information in its affidavits” to the Supreme Court in hearings on GM mustard,” India’s anti-GM activists, farmers and experts today asked it to “redeem itself by putting in the correct information at least now.”
“The matter concerns serious implications for the life and livelihoods of all citizens of the country, given that commercial cultivation of GM herbicide tolerant (HT) mustard will jeopardise human health, environment, livelihoods and trade security on numerous fronts,” they told mediapersons, also urging the Supreme Court to “immediately pass orders to uproot and destroy GM mustard crop planted in multiple sites, in defiance of its orders.”
A group of around 40 farmer leaders have also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to convey their “strong objection and deep disappointment” over the GEAC’s decision to approve the environmental release of GM HT Mustard, hybrid DHM-11 and its parental lines, and negate “claims” about its yield, bio-safety and ‘swadeshi’ variety.
Farmer leader Dharamvir Singh quoted the experience of Bt cotton, to insist that “GM crops are not favourable to the farmers” and demanded uprooting the crop wherever it has been planted.
A day before the hearing, activists also accused the government of “violating its own undertaking to the Supreme Court in hearings related to this matter, and also acted in Contempt of the Court’s orders, when it got them planted in six locations around November 1”.
“In fact, the Supreme Court did not actually get to hear the arguments of parties in 2016 and 2017 because of the repeated undertakings in the court by the Government that it is yet to take a decision.
“Now, a fait accompli has been delivered by the Union of India, its regulators, the Ministry of Environment and its agriculture ministry’s apparatus. This means that in just about a week’s time, the pollen from GM mustard will start contaminating non-GM mustard fields with transgenes including male sterility and herbicide tolerant traits,” they said.
“GM mustard that has been planted has to be uprooted immediately, to prevent irreversible and irreparable damage to our mustard diversity. We urge the Supreme Court to take this matter seriously, with all the attention it deserves in terms of the ramifications from the irresponsible actions of the Government of India,” said Kapil Shah of Alliance for Sustainable amp; Holistic Agriculture (ASHA).
Alleging that the Union government was “actively misleading” the Supreme Court with “untrue and incorrect statements on GM mustard,” Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for a GM-Free India said, “We can list at least five areas to prove that incorrect information is being provided”.
