COIMBATORE: The Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) will not be shutdown or merged with other institutions, Central government officials clarified in a letter to Coimbatore MP P Nagarajan.

 

There were apprehensions among the scientists and staff of the institute about rumours to shut it down on the lines of the government printing press. The letter came as a relief to them.

 

Nagarajan had requested the union agriculture ministry on December 18 not to close down or merge SBI, the National Research centre for Banana in Trichy and the Central Institute of Brackish Water Aquaculture in Chennai.

 

Minister of agriculture and farmers welfare Radha Mohan Singh, in a letter dated January 12 to Nagarajan, said there is no such proposal as of now.

 

Meanwhile, deputy director general (horticulture& crop science) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Icar) Anand Kumar Singh, in a letter to the secretary of the Agricultural Research Service Scientists Forum's Coimbatore unit Ravindra Naik, also said that there is no plan to merge or close down SBI.

 

An expert committee led by former secretary of the department of science and technology T Ramasami had suggested the ministry to merge many institutions to reduce expenditure. Following the suggestion, there were rumours about the merger of SBI with Iisr in Lucknow.

 

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had also requested the Union government not to close or merge the institute. Mdmk leader Vaiko also condemned any such move.

 

SBI was established by the British Government in 1912 on a 250-acre farm land. More than 200 people, including 75 scientists, are employed there. The institute had developed a new variety of Sugarcane 'Co 0238' a few years ago. Uttar Pradesh had topped in sugarcane production by cultivating the variety.