Environment minister cornered over bio-piracy of brinjal

Members of Parliament M P Achuthan and D Raja asked Natrajan “whether it is a fact that the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has found that the development of Bt brinjal was a case of bio-piracy and has recommended action against the US agri-business giant Monsanto and its Indian collaborators who developed and promoted the controversial, genetically modified vegetable; and if so the details thereof and Government’s reaction thereto?”

Natarajan in her reply stated that NBA has received a complaint from Environment Support Group, a non-profit in Bengaluru, on alleged violation by Mahyco/ Monsanto and their collaborators for accessing and using the local brinjal varieties for development of Bt brinjal. NBA has decided to proceed as per law against the alleged violators on the basis of reports of the State Biodiversity Board for accessing local brinjal varieties without prior approval of the competent authority.

The law mandates that when biodiversity is to be accessed in any manner for commercial, research and other uses, local communities who have protected local varieties and cultivators for generations must be consulted and if they agree, benefits must accrue to them as per internationally applicable Access and Benefit Sharing Protocol. According to National Biodiversity Rules, prior approval/consent is required from the local competent authorities like the state biodiversity board or panchayats before using an indigenous plant variety or germplasm.

Bt brinjal is the first GM food crop developed in India. It was developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) between Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Coimbatore), University of Agricultural Sciences (Dharwad) and Mahyco, spearheaded by Cornell University of the US. Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had, however, imposed a two-year moratorium on commercial release of Bt brinjal in February 2011.