BRAI Bill 2011

Public Consultation on the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill 2011

Hosted by: Delhi Alliance for Safe Food and Greenpeace Delhi

Date: 16^th November

Venue: Constitution Club, Delhi

Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm

Genetically Modified (GM) or Genetically Engineered (GE) crops are created unnaturally by inserting genes, taken usually from alien organisms. This kind of insertion does not happen in Nature.

There is growing scientific evidence on the lack of safety of GM crops and the majority of countries have shunned this so-called gene revolution path for agricultural development. It has been 15 years since the first GM crop was introduced for commercial cultivation and today 75% of GM crop cultivation happens in just 3 countries; USA, Brasil and Argentina.

Last year, India witnessed a loud and intense debate on Bt brinjal, which was the first GM food crop to be commercialized in the country. Due to the negative public sentiment and the lack of evidence on the safety of the product, the Minister of Environment and Forest declared an indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal.

In India, unlike in many other countries, there is no express statutory regulatory regime governing the regulation of transgenics. The regulatory bodies are also infamous for their lack of independence and scientificity, and generally lack credibility in the eyes of the public as the Bt brinjal debate has shown.

Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India – Threat to our Food, health and Environment

Despite the moratorium, there have been many such efforts in the past to overlook the legitimate concerns over GM crops and the proposed regulatory system, Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill is one such effort. On August 17th 2011, the Lok Sabha’s list of business had BRAI Bill’s introduction on that day’s business. However, for various reasons, this Bill did not get introduced then but is now available in the public domain and can be introduced in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

The BRAI Bill 2011 proposals are very weak- protecting India’s health and environment from the risks of modern biotechnology should be the primary mandate which is missing in this Bill.

The bill has been termed unconstitutional by many as it proposes to override the decision making power of the state government on matters of agriculture and Health. More over it also envisages to override the Right to Information act, 2005, which is a major pillar of public's right to know, when it comes to matters on GM crops and other products of modern biotechnology.

The BRAI Bill is a threat to our food, health and environment. As citizens of India, we should be concerned about the introduction of this Bill in the winter session of Parliament.

Need for a public consultation on the BRAI Bill 2011

The BRAI Bill is a piece of legislation which will impact every citizen from different sectors of this society as it involves the safety of our food, health and environment. The Bill was drafted in a secretive fashion with no opportunity for the public to comment on the legislation which deals with something as important as the safety of food. It was in this context that the Delhi Alliance for Safe Food has decided to take up on it the responsibility of creating a forum where public and experts can put forth their views on the legislation. We see this as an essential democratic process that the government has forgotten or ignored and sincerely hope that the outcomes from it would be taken up seriously by all relevant policy makers.

We would really like to have your presence at the consultation to make the discussion more valuable.

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Kind Regards

jaya