MNCs accused of flouting guidelines during field trials

Bangalore, Mar 8 (UNI) Non Profit Organisation Greenpeace India today charged multinational seed companies with throwing to winds all guidelines when conducting field trails of Genetically Modified (GM) Cotton in the state and sought the Karnataka Government to impose a ban on it immediately.

Presenting the status of the Bollgard II trials being conducted in four villages in Haveri district, Greenpeace GE Campaigner Divya Raghunandan claimed that companies organising field trials were flouting various biosafety norms applicable to GM Crop trials and encouraging farmers to sell untested products in open market.

She informed that investigations done by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) of Civil Society Goups, supported by Greenpeace, in February last revealed that multinational seed companies had indulged in large scale violations in conducting field trials.

Ms Raghunandan said the MEC had reported the illegal and unscientific nature of GM crop trials in the country at a meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) held last month, using the illustration of Bollgard II trials from five states in the country. Subsequently the Committee had instructed the seed companies, including Mahyco, Rasi, Ajeet and Nath, to respond to MEC's allegations.

The Union Government had also sought status report from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab on the quality of field trials being conducted in the respective states.

Greenpeace India demanded that the Karnataka government order a probe into violations of field trials in the state.

It urged the state authorities to ensure that standing crops were not destroyed and seed companies paid compensation to farmers.

It also wanted the GEAC and the Review Committee on Genetic Modification to cancel permissions granted for all large scale and limited field trials in 2005.

UNI MV RG TS1726