"On GM food, Govt begins its Jairam damage control," Indian Express
Michael Thompson
New Delhi : Pushed to a corner by Environment Minister Jairam
Ramesh’s peremptory freeze on Bt brinjal, the UPA government took the
first step of finding a way out. And it needed the authority of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh to do that.
In a clear enunciation of the government’s policy on GM crops — a
policy that got clouded by Ramesh’s rhetoric — the Prime Minister
underlined the importance of biotechnology in productivity and food
security, called for private investment in biotech, a time-frame for a
decision on Bt brinjal and a national biotechnology regulatory
authority.
These significant shifts from Ramesh’s stand came in a statement after
the Prime Minister’s meeting this evening with Ramesh, Agriculture
Minister Sharad Pawar, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj
Chavan and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.
Significantly, all three — Pawar, Chavan and Sibal — had called for a
more nuanced, science-based approach to the issue. Pawar, in fact,
sent a letter to the Prime Minister suggesting that the ad hoc freeze
on Bt Brinjal would set the clock back and demoralise Indian
scientists.
A senior government functionary described today’s outcome as an
“honourable draw” for Ramesh.
At the meeting, it was decided that all steps be taken to ensure that
Bt brinjal has no “adverse effects on human and animal health and
biodiversity.” The PM, however, also favoured a clear time-frame to
decide the fate of Bt brinjal as against an indefinite moratorium
announced by Ramesh.
He also restored the primacy of the Genetic Engineering Approval
Committee (GEAC). This was the body whose powers Ramesh intended to
dilute.
While Ramesh wanted the GEAC to take the opinion of civil society
groups on deciding on Bt brinjal, a statement from the Prime
Minister’s Office following the meeting said that the GEAC would
resolve “all scientific issues relating to Bt brinjal.”
Ramesh had asserted that biotechnology research in agriculture should
primarily be driven by publicly funded institutions but today’s
statement underlined the need to “stimulate public and private
investment in biotechnology”.
In this context, the meeting also resolved to expedite the process of
establishing a National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA), an
independent regulator that will be responsible for managing all
biotechnology related products in India, both in the agricultural as
well as pharmaceutical sectors.
As reported by this paper earlier, a draft bill for setting up NBRA is
likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament.
Unlike the GEAC, the NBRA, in the proposed draft bill, is not designed
to function under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In fact,
Sibal was invited to the meeting mainly because he, as the Science and
Technology Minister in the previous UPA government, had been
instrumental in drafting the NBRA bill.
In today’s meeting, Pawar is learnt to have said that Ramesh’s
decision had adversely affected the morale of the scientists who had
been toiling in agricultural biotechnology sector for a number of
years.
The Prime Minister asked his ministers not to air their differences in
public and take a common position on important public issues.
The shift in the government’s position, as enunciated in the
statement, followed a similar shift in the line taken by the ruling
Congress earlier in the day. The party, which had staunchly backed
Ramesh’s decision earlier, today said it was not opposed to Bt brinjal
“or for that matter any scientific research for GM food crops”.
Before meeting his ministers, the Prime Minister had a telephonic
conversation with agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan and other
scientists to get their opinion on this issue.
PTI adds: Earlier today, speaking to women journalists, Ramesh said he
felt he was fighting a “lonely” battle. “I have no friends,” he said,
“only the Prime Minister supports me in the Cabinet.”
Asked who were his friends, Ramesh said he had zero friends. I have no
friends, only the Prime Minister supports me in the Cabinet.
At times I feel I am fighting a lonely battle. The odds are so stacked
up against anybody saying or doing the right and rational thing as far
as environment and forests are concerned, he said.
Ramesh added that nobody in politics, except the UPA chairperson, is
willing to take a stand on issues relating to environment and forests.
We have to take a stand. We cannot dilly-dally. On Bt brinjal, I could
have also not taken a decision, he said.