Drug park needs to have mechanism to mitigate pollution in BBN area

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, November 22

With the air and water pollution levels in Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) failing to fall within the prescribed limit, a facility for effective mitigation of pollution will have to be set up in the upcoming bulk drug park as such units are highly polluting.

The bulk drug industrial units fall in the red category, whose pollution index score is 70 and above.

The Baddi industrial cluster falls in the severely polluting category as its comprehensive environment pollution index is rated at 68.26 by the Central Pollution Control Board. The State Pollution Control Board was directed to devise an effective mechanism for expansion and new activities in the red and orange categories following this adverse rating by the NGT. Though a mechanism was devised to enable the new units to come up and the existing to expand, the NGT has failed to accept it and the mechanism is being revised now.

The Centre was keen on developing the park, announced for the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt by the then Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers in April 2016, as it would reduce the dependence of active pharmaceutical ingredients imported from China.

“Land measuring 663 bighas has been identified for setting up the park at Kripalpur in Nalagarh. It was transferred in the name of the Industries Department. An agency has been hired to undertake its environmental impact assessment and the process is under way,” said Deputy Director, Single Clearance Agency, Sanjay Kanwar.

Key issues like developing a common effluent treatment plant for the upcoming units will be a key concern for the state government as the NGT has adopted a strict posture on pollution and given the poor rating of the area, effective pollution mitigation measures are the need of the hour.

The state government had accorded approval to two such units — Lupin Pharma and Torrent Pharma — to set up bulk drug units. The share of bulk drug manufacturers is less than 2 per cent in the state with Morepen Labs among the major bulk drug manufacturers. Morepen Labs has sought clearance to set up another plant with Rs 100 crore investment in the Baddi area.

“We had sought land for setting up subsidiaries for our bulk drug unit in the proposed bulk drug park as it would have helped us gain access to the common effluent treatment plant, but the park is yet to be setup. Being a red category industry, which is highly polluted, we will soon undertake environmental impact assessment to initiate the process of setting up the unit on our own land,” said Pramod Chandra, senior official of Morepen Labs.