Commercialization of Bt brinjal put on hold: minister

New Delhi, Mar 8: The commercialization of Bt brinjal has been halted by the Central government till independent scientific studies establish the safesty of the product, both with regards to impact on human health and effect on environment.

"Some of the state governments, NGOs and sections of the scientific and farming communities have expressed apprehensions on the safety of Bt brinjal and have called for extreme caution as Bt brinjal is the first GM food crop to be introduced in the country," said Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Jairam Ramesh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

"The Government has imposed a moratorium on commercialization of Bt brinjal event EE-I on February 9 last till such time independent scientific studies establish the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment including the rich genetic wealth existing in brinjal in the country."

The minister further informed that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has accorded approval for conducting genetic engineering tests on Genetically Modified (GM) crops.

They include cotton, rice, okra, brinjal, potato, groundnut, tomato, corn, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard and sorghum for generation of biosafety data. GEAC is the apex body notified under the 'Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro Organisms/ Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989' of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.