No decision on Bt Brinjal without consultation: Minister
October 15th, 2009 - 7:47 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) A series of consultations will be made before taking any decision on the release of Bt Brinjal in India, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday.
The minister’s statement came a day after the government’s biotech regulator approved the commercialisation of the genetically modified crop, leading to protests by environmental and farmers’ groups.
“During January and February 2010, I propose to have a series of consultations in different places with scientists, agriculture experts, farmers’ organisations, consumer groups and NGOs” on the subject of releasing Bt Brinjal,” Ramesh said.
“The decision will be made only after the consultations process is complete and all stakeholders are satisfied that they have been heard to their satisfaction.”
After the nod from the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the environment ministry has to decide if Bt Brinjal will be allowed to be released commercially.
Ramesh said the GEAC decision was based on the recommendation of an expert committee, and the committee’s report was being made public immediately on the environment ministry’s website. The ministry is seeking comments from the public on the report. Comments can be made till the end of the year.
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- Decision on Bt. Brinjal not influenced by NGOs: Jairam (Second Lead) - Feb 26, 2012
- Bt.Brinjal decision not influenced by NGOs, asserts Jairam (Lead) - Feb 26, 2012
- Bt Brinjal: Greenpeace condemns government's double talk - Jan 22, 2010
- Baba Ramdev talks tough on BT brinjal issue - Jan 31, 2010
- Bt Brinjal safe for humans, says science ministry (Lead) - Jan 19, 2010
- Decision on Bt. Brinjal not influenced by NGOs: Jairam - Feb 25, 2012
- Protests against Bt Brinjal in Chandigarh - Jan 30, 2010
- No pressure from PMO on Bt Brinjal: Jairam Ramesh - Jan 27, 2010
- No GM crop trials without states' consent: Jairam Ramesh - Mar 09, 2011
- State chiefs don't want hasty decision on Bt brinjal: Jairam Ramesh - Jan 28, 2010
- Decision on BT Brinjal in 10 days: Jairam Ramesh - Jan 31, 2010
- Ramesh to face stormy Bangalore meeting on BT Brinjal - Feb 06, 2010
Tags: agriculture experts, brinjal, commercialisation, consultation, consumer groups, different places, expert committee, farmers, forests, genetic engineering, minister of state, New Delhi, ngos, nod, protests, report comments, satisfaction, scientists, series of consultations, stakeholders
