India rejects plea for GM cotton variety

The government said on Friday that it had rejected a plea by a Mumbai-based company to produce a genetically modified cotton hybrid as it was not resistant to cotton leaf curl virus.

The application for commercial production of the hybrid was made by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co, in which US biotech giant Monsanto Company has a 26 per cent stake.

"This variety, MECH 915, has not been found resistant to cotton leaf curl virus. This cannot be introduced as it is not resistant," Sushma Choudhary, chairwoman of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, told reporters.

The GEAC had in March last year allowed production of three genetically modified cotton hybrids by MAHYCO.

It was the first genetically engineered hybrid allowed for commercial sowing by the government after over five years of field trials and lab tests.

A spokesman of the environment ministry said there would be no further trials of MECH 915 as "it has been rejected by the panel".

Trials for MECH 915 were carried out for commercial production in the northern region where cotton leaf curl virus is common. "It could have had adverse impact on the crop since the virus is very common in that area," Choudhary said.

MAHYCO officials were not immediately available for comment.

The approval of the GEAC is mandatory for field trials and commercial production of GM crops in the country.

The company started limited field trials of its BT (bacillus thuringiensis) seed in 1996-97 but has faced opposition from environmentalists and farmers worried about its safety and transparency of the trial data.