Even as the Maharashtra agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar has called for a ban on the herbicide tolerant (HT) genetically modified cotton, the Delhi-based South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) has claimed that the illegal market is worth about Rs472 crore.
About 35 lakh packets of illegal HT cotton hybrids were sold this kharif season across Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. The SABC also claimed that 8.5 lakhs hectares, or 7% of the total cotton growing area in the country, is under the illegal HT cultivation.