By Devinder Sharma
03 Mar 2010
The proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill threatens the very essence of democratic values and freedom.
If Indian govt has its way, such agitations against GM food will land people in jail
The ghost of Emergency is back. In fact, it is going to be much worse than the Emergency period. During the infamous Emergency era, anyone could be arrested for questioning the powers that be. If the Ministry for Science & Technology has its ways, you can be arrested for simply questioning the safety of your own food, if it is genetically modified.
As massive police action against Maoists, called Operation Green Hunt, is underway in the tribal regions of India, the government is now getting ready with yet another policing campaign to silence people's voices demanding safe food. Armed with the proposed NBRA, the government will now unleash a war against its own citizens. Their crime: they demand to know whether what they are being forced to eat is safe or not.
The unprecedented muzzle on the right to freedom of speech of every citizen forms part of the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill that is likely to be introduced in the Budget session in Parliament. Denials notwithstanding, Chapter 13 section 63 of the draft bill says, "Whoever, without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public about the safety of the organisms and products…shall be punished with imprisonment for a term that shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both."
During Emergency, you faced jail for your political differences. But if the proposed BRAI bill becomes legislation, you will have to in addition pay a fine.
Even critical journalist writings can land the writer in jail. And those who dare to protest or cause obstruction to experiments too can be hauled up with imprisonment and/or fine or both. People's right to know more about the experiments conducted to determine environment and health safety too have been taken away. Article 27 (1) of the bill seeks to keep the information related to research, approval and science of the GM products out of the purview of the Right to Information ( RTI) Act.
The National Campaign for People's Right to Information finds the definition of "confidential commercial information" under section 2(h) limiting and restricting in the sense that any and all documents submitted to the Authority for research, transport or import of organisms and products will not be available for public scrutiny. Further, Section 81 overrides the RTI Act 2005 when it says: "the provisions of this Act shall have effect, notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act to have overriding effect."
That something as simple as food should invite such coercive measures to stifle critical voices is clearly a pointer at the desperation to push the seemingly unhealthy GM foods down our throat. Otherwise there seems to be no justification for even drafting such a law that gags public opinion. GM crops are known to be devastating to the environment and ecology, and the push for its acceptance undermines the task of biodiversity conservation. This goes against the recommendations of the Swaminathan Task Force Report, which said: "the bottom line for any biotechnology regulatory policy should be the safety of the environment and the economical and ecological sustainability of farming systems."
No wonder, the draft bill also says that the BRAI will set up its own appellate tribunal, which will have the jurisdiction to hear arguments on the issues concerning biotechnology. In case of any disputes, petitioners can only approach the Supreme Court of India.
Any regulatory mechanism should inspire public confidence, and not take away the right to question the science and the process. Already the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which is the apex body for environmental clearance for the GM crops, has come under a lot of flak for being a rubber stamp for the biotechnology industry. The moratorium on Bt brinjal announced by the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has clearly brought the need for a more open, transparent and accountable regulatory mechanism.
Still worse, I don't understand the urgent need that is being shown to set up a fast-track single window clearance for the controversial GM crops. Even in the USA, the Mecca for GM crops, the clearance system comprises three windows -- the US Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Even then, the US regulatory process has been questioned time and again, and has been found to be faulty.
In India, the decision to approve GM crops, would essentially wrest with three member expert committee of the Department of Biotechnology. This has been given a go-bye. Moreover, the fact that the bill has been listed for introduction in Parliament with no space for discussion of its contents shows what is in store ahead.
Opposition to the bill is spreading through out India.
ReplyDeleteAs Mr. Sharma points out, it is such a bad bill for so many reasons. The worst thing in it is the limits it puts on expression. The GM industry and their political allies are obviously on the defensive; why else would they push such an obviously repressive bill?
We have to stop this! Mr. Sharm and many others are organizing against it. Greenpeace India has got a petition which you can sign (find it by google or from the link at my site). If this passes in India, it will have world wide implications.