Action against Monsanto for violation of Bio-diversity Act
31 May, 2012Reply to an application filed under the Right to Information Act has revealed that the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment, is in the process of lodging a complaint against multi-national giant Monsanto and Indian company Mahyco for allegedly violating the Biological Diversity Act for bio-piracy in promoting BT Brinjal.
A complaint was filed against the companies accusing them of accessing over 16 varieties of brinjal endemic in serious violation of the relevant Act while promoting the commercial release of BT Brinjal. The NBA declined providing copies of the documents pertaining to action initiated claiming that the information falls under section 8 (1) (h) of the RTI Act and the matter is under advanced stage of lodging of complaint and taking into account the intricacies which involves nuances of biotechnology, it is felt that it may not be appropriate to provide the documents at this juncture.