Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government said on Saturday it would not allow commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt Brinjal in the state till a study of its effects on humans and animals is done.
Agriculture Minister Chandrasekhar Sahu has dashed off letters to union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on the matter. "The state will not permit commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal till a comprehensive trial of its effects and fallout on human beings and animals is completed," Sahu said in his letter to the ministers.
He has also expressed strong apprehension that allowing commercial farming of the genetically modified vegetable would have serious fallout on humans and animals. The letter stated that even scientists of the country's bio-technology regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), are not unanimous in allowing commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal, and mentioned the name of one dissenting scientist, P.M. Bhargav.
The GEAC has approved commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal and it is now up to the environment ministry to take a call, which it plans to do after a series of public hearings in January and February.
