Genetically modified crops: Widen consultations to reduce food security risks

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There is the letter of the law and then there’s the spirit of the law. The letter could be followed while ignoring the spirit.

This is not lost on the government, which might be veering that way on genetically modified (GM) crops. Towards the end of July 2024, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict—as well as significant observations—on a case going back to October 2022. Back then, the University of Delhi had developed GM mustard seeds which the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MOEFCC) approved for cultivation.

This was opposed and a case filed; the apex court not only stayed the distribution of these seeds, but also added them to a two-decade-old case it has been hearing on constitutional challenges to India’s regulatory regime for GM crops. The July verdict being split means the case is headed for a larger bench, but both judges asked the government to develop a national policy for GM crops, after due consultation with all stakeholders and adequate publicity for the exercise. The government has now duly set up an expert committee, but secrecy around the panel’s composition gives rise to suspicion over how bipartisan it is.

A larger question has arisen too. Does the Centre’s policy push for GM crops miss real concerns about food security? Reservations over the new panel’s neutrality are aroused by the government’s recent record on exercises that need a bipartisan approach, which has not been exemplary. Consider the manner in which the ruling party managed the passage of bills in Parliament during the last Lok Sabha’s tenure, bypassing the time-tested ritual of letting departmental standing committees critically examine the validity