Farmers in Maharashtra’s Shetkari Sanghatana plan to defy the government’s ban on genetically modified (GM) crops yet again. Since 2019, thousands of farmers have been seeding and cultivating herbicide-tolerant Bt cotton and Bt brinjal in open fields. On Thursday, the pro-GM crop movement in Maharashtra will be relaunched.
“We wrote to the Prime Minister on January 17th, requesting that the GM crop prohibition be lifted by February 16th. There has been no communication, nor has there been any activity. As a result, we have no choice but to engage in civil disobedience “Anil Ghanwat, President of Shetkari Sanghatana’s political wing, Swatantra Bharat Party. He went on to say that illegal Bt brinjal planting would start in Shrigonda, Ahmednagar district.
Leaders of the Shetkari Sanghatana have demanded that the government reveal whether GM cotton has harmed human health or the environment.
Only GM Cotton has been certified for commercial cultivation in India by the Indian government so far. “There are no cases documented on the impact on human health, environment, or extinction of any butterflies in India,” the Ministry of Environment told the Rajya Sabha in December.
“If that’s the case, why isn’t the government allowing farmers to grow GM crops?” Ghanwat wondered.
Leaders of the Shetkari Sanghatana claim that HT cotton, Bt brinjal, and HT soya seeds are all accessible on the illegal market, along with HT cotton. HT cotton accounts for around a quarter of Maharashtra’s cotton production, and there is a multibillion-dollar market for GM seeds. False GM seeds are also available on the market, according to Shetkari Sanghatana leaders, and farmers are being deceived by fraudulent companies.
Since the pro-GM crop campaign began in 2019, the Ministry of Environment has received complaints of illegal growth of GM Cotton and brinjal in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab. The Centre has asked all states to form and strengthen State Biotechnology Coordination Committees and District Level Committees to monitor illegal GM crop cultivation and take appropriate action under the 1986 Environment (Protection) Act.
Environmentalists, on the other hand, claim that states have failed to prosecute those who have broken the law by growing genetically modified crops. The Maharashtra government and the ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party have remained silent on the Shetkari Sanghatana’s action.