India does not allow commercial production of genetically modified (GM) crops, but has allowed a few companies to carry out field trials under government supervision.

The committee said it reversed its decision taken earlier this month because it didn't want to punish the farmers for having planted unwittingly the bacillus thuringiensis cotton, otherwise known as BT cotton.

"The presumption has been made that farmers should not be penalised for cultivating potentially hazardous cotton," A.M. Gokhale, chairman of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, told reporters after a day-long meeting.

The issue of genetically modified cotton is of crucial interest to Indian farmers. Though India is the world's largest cotton-growing country, the per-hectare yield is only around 300 kg compared with the world average of around 650 kg.

Farm scientists estimate nearly half of the pesticide used in India goes to protect cotton crops from pest attacks.

INVESTIGATE ORIGIN OF SEEDS

The committee, whose permission is mandatory for field trials or commercial production of GM crops, said it still had to find out how the banned cotton seeds entered the country.

"The Gujarat government will procure whatever cotton crop is standing or whatever is lying with the farmers unsold", test it and report its findings back to the committee, he said.

Environmental activists have called for suspension of field trials and production of gene-modified cotton until more studies are done on potential health and environmental hazards.

"The committee has directed that once the final plucking is done, the standing cotton plants or crop residue will be uprooted and burnt," Gokhale said.

He said the company which sold the GM seeds to the farmers told the committee it got them from suppliers in the western state of Maharashtra. But the firm said it had been unaware this contained the BT strain.

Gujarat has a total of 1.7 million to 1.9 million hectares of cotton under cultivation.

Gokhale said the committee had also learned the BT seeds had been sold in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

He said the committee asked the Gujarat government to warn the public the seeds had not been tested for safety. But he said "a certain part of the harvest has already been done and the seeds have gone to the market".

India produces 16 million to 18 million bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton on about nine million hectares every year.