Govt on Tuesday refused to give a go-ahead to commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal.
Announcing a cautious approach of the government, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said there was "no clear consensus" among the scientists and stake-holders on giving permission to Bt Brinjal and more studies needed to be conducted.
"There is no over-riding urgency to introduce it... When the public sentiments have been negative, it is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary and principle-based approach," he told a hurriedly-called press conference which was originally scheduled for Wednesday.
Noting that the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have opposed Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said non-Congress ruled states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar accounted for 60 per cent of brinjal cultivation.
All the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states have already opposed introduction of Bt Brinjal.
What is BT Brinjal ?
Bt Brinjal is a genetically-modified vegetable which is infused with Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests.
Some scientists have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers.
No comments:
Post a Comment