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1.Bt brinjal divides science & health ministers
2.India's Environment Minister rebuts Agriculture Minister
3.Orissa govt opposes introduction of Bt brinjal
4.Sorry, no Bt brinjal on Karnataka's menu

NOTE: Karnataka is the 8th Indian State to come out against GM eggplant (Bt brinjal).

QUOTE: "We have [suffered] Bt cotton and its consequences. Why introduce Bt brinjal and bear that again?" - Karnataka's Minister of Horticulture: http://bit.ly/927APT
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1.Bt brinjal divides science & health ministers
Savita Verma
Times of India, January 21 2010
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/80189/India/Bt+brinjal+divides+science+&+health+ministers.html

Minister of state for health Dinesh Trivedi has opposed Bt brinjal. He, however, expressed his views as a Member of Parliament and not as a minister. "Bt brinjal needs lots of discussion and research," Trivedi said. He plans to take up the issue within his ministry.

On the other hand, science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan stood by the genetically modified crop and backed the approval given to it by an environment ministry committee.

Chavan said, "We hope to see it release soon. We stand by the trials and safety studies done by the regulatory bodies. It is safe." The genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC) has cleared Bt brinjal as being safe for commercialisation from environmental and health points of view.

Department of biotechnology secretary M. K. Bhan said the Bt brinjal had been discussed by the scientific community thoroughly. It had been concluded that it was clean for environment and safe for humans. He said he had personally looked into all the data on the genetically modified vegetable crop.

"The data on safety and efficacy has been examined by 30 scientists who are members of the review committee on genetic manipulation and also the GEAC. The data is sufficient to allay safety and environment concerns," Council of Scientific and Industrial Research director- general Samir Brahmachari said farmers would benefit from the use of Bt brinjal as brinjal crop worth over Rs 1,000 crore is lost to insects every year. "I don't know whether people will like its taste or not but it is safe for all humans." Kerala, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have already decided to keep Bt brinjal out. It was objected to even by former health minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

Chief ministers of Delhi and Uttarakhand are also planning to write to the environment minister.
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2.Jairam Ramesh rebuts Sharad Pawar's stand Centre has no role in reviewing GEAC decision on Bt Brinjal

Reasserts right to hold Public Consultations on Bt Brinjal issue

Press Release : Bangalore : 21 January 2010

This morning a small report appeared in the Deccan Herald with the title: "Panel to take decision on Bt brinjal", New Delhi, Jan 20,
PTI: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/47973/panel-take-decision-bt-brinjal.html

'Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here on Wednesday that the expert committee's decision on the introduction of Bt brinjal will be final and the Centre does not have any say in the issue.


"We don't have any opinion on it. The decisions of the committee on the issue is final. The Ministry does not have any say on the issue," the Union Agriculture minister told reporters on the sidelines of the state ministers' conference on milk productivity.'(ENDS)

Environment Support Group brought this report to the attention of Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State for Envrionment and Forests (i/c). In an immediate response, Mr. Ramesh has shot of a letter to Mr. Sharad Pawar, Union Minister for Agriculture. A copy of this letter was shared with Environment Support Group and is attached to this release.

In this letter Mr. Ramesh asserts the pre-eminent position of the Union Government in protecting wider public interest while deciding on complex, controversial and far reaching decisions relating to the release of the first GMO food in India Bt Brinjal. Mr. Ramesh states: "GEAC may well be a statutory body but when critical issues of human safety are involved, the Government has every right and, in fact has a basic responsibility, to take the final decision based on the recommendations of the GEAC". Providing the rationale for why he decided to hold Public Consultations across India before taking a final decision on the GEAC's approval to Bt Brinjal on 14 October 2009, Mr. Ramesh argues "(s)ince Bt-Brinjal will be the first genetically modified food crop and since I am well aware of the concerns that have been raised on this issue, I decided that I will have public consultations in seven cities Kolkota, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur and Chandigarh. I have also written to Chief Ministers of six important brinjal cultivating states West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In addition, I have sought feedbadk from over 50 top scientists both from India and abroad."

In an emphatic defense of the ongoing public consultation processes, Mr. Ramesh writes to Mr. Pawar that "....you will agree that in a democracy like ours, we have to take decisions that have far-reaching consequences with the greatest degree of caution, with the greatest degree of transparency and after ensuring that all stakeholders have been heard to their satisfaction. This is what I have sought to ensure ever since the GEAC recommendations reached me." Further adding, "I have no personal agenda whatsoever in this matter except to listen, to study and then take a decision", which Mr. Ramesh says will include "..... sharing my final view with PM as well as with you and the Health Minister".

Leo F. Saldanha
Bhargavi S. Rao
Environment Support Group
Address: 1572, 36th Cross, Ring Road, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore 560070
Tel: 91-80-26713559-61 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Web: www.esgindia.org
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3.Orissa govt opposes introduction of Bt brinjal
Press Trust of India (PTI), Jan 18 2010
http://www.ptinews.com/news/474262_Orissa-govt-opposes-introduction-of-Bt-brinjal

New Delhi Three states which account for 60 per cent of brinjal production in the country have clearly told the Centre that they were not keen on introducing the genetically-modified version (Bt brinjal) in their fields.

"After West Bengal and Bihar, it is now Orissa Agriculture Minister who has written me a letter that they were opposed to the Bt brinjal," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said at the Editors' Conference on social sector issues, here today.

With 30 per cent of the total production, West Bengal tops the list followed by Orissa (20%), Bihar (11%), Maharashtra (6%), Andhra Pradesh (6%) and Karnataka (4%).

The opposition has come even as the Minister is holding country-wide public consultation on the safety of the Bt brinjal, whose commercial release was recently approved by the Genetically Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a bio-tech regulator.
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4.Sorry, no Bt brinjal on Karnataka's menu
Srikanth Hunasavadi  
DNA, January 21 2010
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_sorry-no-bt-brinjal-on-karnataka-s-menu_1337239

Bangalore: Bacillus thuringiensis brinjal or Bt brinjal as it is popularly known is definitely not on Karnataka’s menu. On Wednesday, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa hinted at a ban on the genetically-modified vegetable. "The state is the fifth largest producer of brinjal in the country. We are growing more than 40 varieties of brinjal. We will not allow anything that may put our farmers in a difficult spot," said the chief minister.

"When Bt cotton was introduced in India, there was a lot of opposition from farmers' community. According to one of the reports which I have received, Bt brinjal affects human life and also the environment. We will oppose any move which is bad for human life," he added.

Yeddyurappa said he would have a discussion with experts and farmers community in this regard. "We will take a decision and convey our stand to the Centre."

It is not just the chief minister who is having doubts on Bt brinjal. JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda, too, is against it. "There is a difference of opinion among farmers about the said breed of brinjal. I have requested Union minister for agriculture Sharad Pawar to keep in mind the concerns of farmers when taking a decision on Bt brinjal," he said. Gowda said more research has to be done about the Bt variety before arriving at a decision. Members of Savayava Krishi Mission have also opposed the introduction of Bt brinjal into the state and have submitted a memorandum in this regard to the CM.

The environment ministry is holding consultations on cultivation of Bt brinjal in seven cities across the country””Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Nagpur. The public meeting in Bangalore will be held at the Good Shepherd Auditorium next Monday, which will be attended by farmers, NGOs, agricultural experts, scientists, government and the general public. It will be chaired by the Union minister of state for environment and forest Jairam Ramesh. Orissa, West Bengal and Gujarat have decided against introducing the genetically modified version of brinjal.