What safeguards to protect traditional crops from GM crops, SC asks Centre

At a time when the proposed open field trials of Bt brinjal are drawing loud protests, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to detail the steps it has put in place to protect India's traditional crops from possible contamination by field trials of genetically modified seeds.

When additional solicitor general Vivek Tankha tried to assure the court that there were adequate rules and regulations in place and that the Centre would take two weeks to file its response, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices J M Panchal and B S Chauhan said in India the rules mostly get confined to the books.

"In other parts of the world, when they frame a rule or regulation, it is strictly adhered to. They are very, very strict against those who breach it. But, here we are generally slack. The rules are only in the book. Hence, you detail as to how these safeguards and the protection mechanism are being implemented," the Bench said.

Appearing for petitioner Aruna Rodrigues, counsel Prashant Bhushan suggested that instead of open field trials, which pose grave danger to traditional crops of pollen-inflicted contamination despite employing the isolation mechanism, they should conduct the GM seed field trials in greenhouses.

An NGO `Gene Campaign' through counsel Sanjay Parikh questioned the existing guidelines for approval of trials relating to GM crops and said the experts were unanimous that they need to be strengthened immediately. Bhushan supported him and said because of the slack rules the multinationals have made India the destination for field trials of GM vegetables like Bt brinjal, ladyfinger and peas, which no country has allowed till date.

The court asked Tankha to report back in four weeks about the adequacy of the guidelines and rules for clearance of field trials given by the Genetic Engineering Advisory Committee (GEAC).