TN govt last year had decided not to give environmental clearance for Great Eastern Energy Corporation to drill wells for methane exploration in the Thanjavur region
BS Reporter | Chennai
March 6, 2014
Tamil Nadu chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party head J Jayalalithaa has said she would not allow the field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops if elected to power at the Centre.
During her Lok Sabha election campaign at Nagapattinam today, Jayalalithaa said: "We will not allow field trials of GM crops in the country and permissions for those already granted would be cancelled when a new government assumes at the Centre after the elections, in which AIADMK would be the key."
During her speech, she criticised Centre's recent decision to allow field trials of around 200 varieties of GM crops and alleged this would make the multinational seed companies happy, while resulting in grief for farmers. She also indicated farmers' interest would be a key priority for the state.
"We will not encourage industrialisation at the cost of farmers' lives," she said.
The Tamil Nadu government last year had decided not to give environmental clearance for Great Eastern Energy Corporation to drill wells for methane exploration in the Thanjavur region.
Jayalalithaa said a committee had been constituted to look into the project's environmental impact.
The chief minister also criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not taking any action to protect the fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who often come under attack by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Instead of asking the Sri Lankan President to stop the attacks, he was shaking hands with him, Jayalalithaa said. On Wednesday, Prime Minister met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Myanmar.
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