Tamil Nadu government would not take any hasty decision on cultivating Bt Brinjal in the state, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said here on Wednesday.
“The government will not take any hasty decision on this. Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam has already given a detailed report in the Assembly,” he told representatives of various forums which sought a ban on controversial genetically-modified Brinjal.
An official press release said representatives of NGO Poovulagin Nanbargal, Safe Food Alliance, Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective and Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers Federation met the Chief Minister at his Gopalapuram residence in this regard.
During the interaction, Mr. Karunanidhi told them that he has issued orders to officials stating that Bt Brinjal should not be cultivated or sold in Tamil Nadu unless the government permitted it, the release added.
The Bt Brinjal issue has been firmly opposed by civil societies, NGOs, a section of scientists and health experts on the vegetable’s effects on human health and soil fertility.
