‘At Jairam’s hearings,no one heard us’

Some of them are now speaking up to claim that the way the hearings were held,it was clear that there could have been only one outcome.

Several senior scientists told the The Indian Express today that they were never heard at these public hearings. “I was out-shouted by the NGO lobbies the moment I began speaking. I could not express my views. Public hearings of the sort that were arranged are not the right place where scientific issues can be discussed in an objective manner,” said Dr M Mahadevappa,a two-time former vice-chancellor of the University of Agriculture Sciences,Dharwad,who attended the public hearing in Bangalore.

UAS,Dharwad,is one of the two universities — the second one being Tamil Nadu Agriculture University,Coimbatore — that actively collaborated in developing the Bt Brinjal.

“I have been working with several Krishi Vigyan Kendras in Karnataka for several years and I have found no opposition from farmers against Bt brinjal. Even at the Bangalore meeting,I was opposed by the NGOs and not by the farmers,” he said.

Dr B C Viraktamath,project director at the Directorate of Rice Research in Hyderabad,was not even allowed to enter the building where the hearing was going on.

“The entire space at the site in Hyderabad was hijacked by NGOs and farmer organisations. Many of my colleagues and I were physically prevented from entering the building. We were only able to watch it on screens outside. The way the consultations were held,it was very clear that the entire exercise was random with a disproportionate representation of protestors,” Viraktamath said.

Ramesh decided to take Bt brinjal issue to the public after the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee gave its nod to the crop but left it to the government to take a final call in view of larger policy issues involved.

After carrying out public hearings,which often got extremely bitter and acrimonious,in Kolkata,Bhubaneswar,Ahmedabad,Nagpur,Chandigarh,Hyderabad and Bangalore in the last one month,Ramesh on Tuesday announced his decision to put the introduction of the crop on indefinite hold till “independent scientific tests” had established the safety of the genetically modified brinjal.

A senior scientist,who wished not to be named,described the process as similar to public “Sms-polls” to decide the winner in a reality show. “Questions of complicated issues in science have to be decided by scientists. This is not a popularity contest. Feedback from the public and other stakeholders are important but those cannot become the basis to decide scientific decisions,” he said.

Recalling her experience with public hearings on Bt Brinjal,Dr Karabi Datta of Calcutta University said people like her were never heard.

“There was complete chaos at the consultations at Bose Institute in Kolkata. Everyone was shouting and protesting. No reasonable arguments were being made. I wanted to present my point of view but was not heard. People present around me asked me to sit down as no one was hearing me in any case,” said Datta who has worked for several years at the International Rice Research Institute in Philippines and is currently working on genetically modified rice.

Dr M Sujatha,a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research at Hyderabad,said the minister should have arranged for a more organised public hearing. “This is not the right kind of approach to solicit views on such a complex issue. The minister could have held separate meetings with scientists,farmers and NGOs to get a more balanced and clear picture,” she said.