Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has requested Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh to revoke the permission given for field trials of genetically-modified rubber in Kottayam. [...] Pointing out that agriculture is a state subject and that Kerala has every right to remain GM-free, Mullakkara said in his letter: ”It is of serious concern for Kerala that this is the first such trial in a tree crop anywhere in India and this is being permitted in a biodiversity-rich region”.