PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar shot off a letter to the Union ministry of environment and forests on Wednesday, expressing afresh his reservation on the commercial cultivation of genetically-modified (GM) mustard.

I strongly urge that this GM mustard application must be rejected instantaneously. No decision on GM crops should be taken in haste as it can harm the interests of farmers and the people of the India in general," Nitish wrote.

He said he was writing the letter in acknowledgement of reports of regulatory clearance accorded by Genetic Appraisal Engineering Committee for commercial cultivation of GM mustard. The matter now awaits Union environment minister's nod.

Referring to his October 6 letter to PM Narendra Modi on GM crops, Nitish said, "Our concerns and objections remain unresolved. The state governments will be forced to bear the adverse consequences of this technology if the Centre approves it even as the agriculture is a state subject. The said technology is likely to be commercialised by seed MNCs, which will be highly monopolistic and leave millions of farmers in the hands of seed companies."

Incidentally, mustard is an important crop of Bihar. Apart from its oil being used for cooking purposes and cakes for animal feed, the yellow flowers of mustard plant also serves as food for honeybees in winter.

"Bihar will not be able to escape the consequences of the technology. When it comes to food crops, the country has to be particularly cautious. Health impact on consumers cannot be ruled out," Nitish had written in his letter to PM.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/nitish-writes-against-gm-mustard/articleshow/58740269.cms