[Ed] Maharashtra’s way

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis deserves credit for allowing open field trials in five GM crops, notwithstanding the ire it is likely to invite from Sangh Parivar outfits. By noting that the no-objection certificate (NOC) granted by the state government is just for confined trials and not for commercial cultivation, Fadnavis has only stated the obvious. Any decision on commercialisation is for the Centre to take based on data pertaining to bio-safety and agronomic performance of the concerned GM plant lines. But the generation of such data is possible only through field trials in isolated plots of one hectare or less. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in the Union environment ministry had already approved trials in the case of five transgenic crops. The Maharashtra government has merely issued the NOC for these trials to now go ahead. The NOC from Maharashtra is, however, significant considering that most states — including BJP-ruled Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — have denied permissions for field trials, thereby rendering any Central clearances ineffective. The primary culprit for this was the previous UPA regime, which inserted this condition of GM crop trials requiring NOCs from the states where they are being conducted. States can block commercial planting of transgenics; they are entitled to do that by not issuing seed licences. But they cannot be given a veto when it comes to field trials, simply on an a priori conclusion that these plants pose unspecified threats to biodiversity and human/animal health. Ultimately, it is only the Centre (that is, the GEAC) that can decide on both allowing trials and determining whether a particular transgenic is safe to be released for cultivation by farmers. The states’ role should be limited to only issuing or denying seed licences.