The Greens have another reason to cheer

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Greens in the state are a happy lot for the controversial Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill is yet to be introduced in the Parliament, thanks to Anna Hazare and the din over the Lokpal Bill in Parliament.  The Bill, earlier scheduled to be introduced on August 17 and later postponed for two days, could not be tabled even under intense pressure from the biotechnology industry.The BRAI Bill, a new version of the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, has been labelled ‘draconian’ by Greens all over the country. They maintained that it is a blatant attempt to bulldoze through the public resistance and genuine concerns about genetically-modified (GM) crops, and to deny state governments their constitutional authority over agriculture and health. The Bill seeks to keep the regulatory control in the hands of the Union Government in the name of ‘public interest’. ‘’Agriculture is definitely a state subject. Besides, the Bill has several unconstitutional and retrogressive clauses like the one that prevents anyone other than scientists to question the introduction of genetically-modified organisms,’’ said J Usha, director of state-based NGO Thanal.The Bill also seeks to classify some information as Confidential Commercial Information and leaves it to the discretion of officials of the authority to share them or not. This, the Greens point out, is regressive, given that the Bt brinjal controversy saw the Supreme Court asking the regulators to make available all biosafety data in the public domain. ‘’The new Bill is just old wine in a new bottle, the contents are all the same. The language is a little diluted, but it still remains draconian,’’ said V S Vijayan, former chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. The Coalition for a GM-Free India had earlier urged Parliamentarians to object the very introduction of the Bill stating that it was a ‘’wrong Bill by the wrong people for the wrong reasons’’. The scam-ridden UPA Government will only take a further beating in the eyes of the public if it tries to introduce and pass the Bill, the Coalition warned.‘’The regulation of modern biotechnology is not like regulation as in other sectors such as telecom, where corrupt politicians and bureaucrats can hope to make money. Here the health and safety of the public are at risk. So is the case of environment and biodiversity which would have to deal with a living modified organisms with unknown possible effects,’’ said R Sridhar, convenor of the Coalition for a GM-Free India. ‘’This Bill should have been introduced by the Ministry of Environment or that of Health, not Science and Technology,’’ he added.The Bill essentially proposes that a three-member authority, with support from two other part-time members will take decisions. ‘’How can the entire authority of decision-making for the whole country rest with a small group of scientists? There are several issues that need to be addressed, including those related to farmers’ rights, consumers’ rights, trade security, sustainable development etc., all linked to modern biotechnology and its applications,’’ said J Usha.