MUMBAI: In a victory for campaigners against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to make public data generated from tests carried out on genetically engineered crops by agro-biotech companies.

The order came in response to a demand from Greenpeace for data on toxicity, allergenicity and any other relevant material on transgenic brinjal, okra, mustard and rice, which were approved for multi-location trials.

The order was issued on April 13, 2007, by Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner, after Greenpeace activist Divya Raghunandan appealed against a refusal from DBT to part with this information.

In February 2006, Ms. Raghunandan had applied to DBT under the Right to Information (RTI) Act demanding a list of field trial locations (villages and districts) of genetically engineered brinjal, okra, mustard and rice approved by the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) for multi-location trials.

She had also asked for toxicity, allergenicity and any other relevant data on transgenic brinjal, okra, mustard and rice approved by the RCGM for the multi-location trials, apart from the minutes of the RCGM meetings held on the fourth Tuesday of every month between February 2005 to February 2006.

RCGM is involved in the evaluation of research and development of GM crops. The CIC's order said that Ms. Raghunandan's request for information on all agricultural products could not be refused under the RTI Act 2005. The order also said that any further grounds for non-disclosure were invalid even if the information was still in the process of development.

The DBT has been directed to provide this information within 10 working days of this decision. The order noted that since this was a matter of considerable concern to the educated public, the department may consider its publication in printed form.

While Ms. Raghunandan was provided with a list of field trial locations, the rest of the information was denied to her. The reason was that the DBT felt that the disclosure of information would harm the competitive position of a third party, in this case, the company testing the GM crop.

Ms. Raghunandan appealed against this order and was assured of data on brinjal, which was not given to her. For the rest of the crops she was denied information.

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