Environmentalists write to Bhagwant Mann govt against GM mustard

Faridkot, November 4

Members of Sarson Satyagraha-Civil disobedience against GM Mustard, today requested the state government to make sure that no GM mustard, DMH-11 hybrid, was sown anywhere in the state in accordance with a Supreme Court decision.

Environmentalists demanded that the state government should make sure that neither Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) nor any other institution in the state affiliated with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) should sow GM mustard on their campus.

The GM mustard had been approved for release into the environment on October 25 by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.

The ICAR intended to conduct environmental tests of the crop at various sites in the current rabi season and release the seed for use in commerce for the next three years.

Umendra Dutt, a member of the Sarson Satyagraha and the Government of India’s National Task Force on organic farming, said the ICAR had intentions to begin planting DMH-11 in the important mustard growing states, including Punjab.

He has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, PAU and ICAR in this regard.

The first GM food crop to be grown in India will be GM mustard, which is being pushed desperately for adoption. On November 3, the Supreme Court gave the Union Government till November 10 to respond to a petition challenging its decision to approve the environmental clearance for GM mustard.

Kavitha Kurunganti, an activist who has been at the forefront of anti-GM protests, said the group would continue to protest against the move of the Central Government in this regard.