India s quest for GM rubber got a boost as Western Indian state of Maharashtra responded positively to a proposal from the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) for a controlled free trial. Speaking to newsmen here Rubber Board chairperson Sheela Thomas said RRII would now start preparations for launching field trials of GM rubber at the Maharashtra site. However Response from Kerala government which had strongly opposed the field trials citing the State s policy to be free of GM crops was awaited. The proposal for field trials of GM rubber was approved by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) under the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE) at its meeting late last year.
The Rubber Board Chairman said the The RRII had proposed two field trial bases one at Chethakkal Thombikandam near Kottayam in Kerala and the other at Dapchari Thane in Maharashtra. The MoEF had approved field trial of GM rubber in sites designated for experiments over a period of 14 years. The Ministry stipulated that trials would be conducted in closely controlled environment and that it would not be carried out in commercially cultivated holdings. Field trial of GM rubber in particular and GM crops as a whole had been at the centre of debates on bio safety and food security in Kerala. Sheela Thomas said the board would conduct a survey to find out among other things the actual stock of natural rubber in the country.
She said a framework for the survey which will investigate several other aspects of natural rubber cultivation and production was just being readied. The survey would be conducted entirely by the Rubber Board and no outside agency would be involved she told the media here at the end of an interactive session with rubber traders under the aegis of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Rubber Board Chairman said she would address the issues raised by the rubber trade particularly members of the Cochin Rubber Merchants Association.