Centre seeks action against illgel GM crop cultivation

 Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said advisories have been issued to states to take action to curb and control the spread of unapproved Genetically Modified crops -- Bt brinjal and HT cotton.

A few incidences of suspected open cultivation of Bt brinjal and HT (Herbicide Tolerant) cotton were reported in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh in the past few months.

Barring exception of Bt cotton, cultivation of any other unapproved GM crop is banned in India, Tomar informed Lok Sabha in a written reply. 

State governments have been directed to take necessary legal steps to curb the production and selling of illegal GM crops, he said.

Evaluation of each application of GM crop is done on a case-to-case basis after a thorough examination of health, environment, food and feed safety assessment studies, he said. IANS