Unit producing 'ephedrine' illegally sealed in Yamunanagar

Shiv Kumar Sharma

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Yamunanagar, December 16

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has closed down the operation of M/S Shree Murlidhar Industries, situated in Bapoli village of Yamunanagar district, by sealing its plant and machinery.

661.75 kg seized

• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized 661.75 kg of ephedrine in wet form, which carried a market value of Rs 132.35 crore.
• Ephedrine is a controlled substance covered under the NDPS Act 1985read with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order, 2013

Plant, machinery sealed

In compliance with the closure order issued by the Chairman of the HSPCB, they recently closed operations of the said factory by sealing its plant and machinery. — Naresh Sharma, Assistant Environment Engineer of the HSPCB, Yamunanagar

The action came recently after the Chairman of the HSPCB issued closure order of this unit on December 8.

According to information, partners of the said factory had obtained the consent to establish and consent to operate (from October 23, 2020 to March 31, 2030) from the HSPCB, Yamunanagar, to manufacture chlorinated paraffin in the said factory.

But, this industrial unit landed in controversy, when a team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence conducted searches on the premises of this factory in Bapoli village from July 29 to 31.

The team allegedly found this factory indulging in illicit manufacturing of ‘ephedrine’ without obtaining no-objection certificate and manufacturing licence from the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Ephedrine is a controlled substance covered under the NDPS Act 1985 ead with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order, 2013. The team seized 661.75 kg of ephedrine in wet form (which later tested positive for mephedrone). The seized drug material carried a market value of Rs 132.35 crore.

The team also seized raw material of ephedrine valued at Rs 53 lakh from the said factory. During the search operation, the team also found that the raw material was procured using fake invoices to manufacture ephedrine. Several persons were arrested in connection with this case.

According to information, the authorities of the HSPCB gave a show-cause notice for the closure to this unit after the search had been conducted. But the unit didn’t submit the reply of the show-cause notice. Thereafter, the Regional Officer of the HSPCB, Yamunanagar, recommended closure action against this unit on November 28, 2022 to the higher authorities of the board.