Looking Back 2022: Mega projects okayed, but spurious narcotics cases sullied state image

Ambika Sharma

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Solan, December 30

The industrial sector saw the state getting mega projects like bulk drugs park and medical device park this year with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying their foundation stones.

The foundation stone of the Rs 350-crore medical device park at Nalagarh was laid on October 5. Himachal Pradesh is one of the four states that has been selected for this park. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) of more than Rs 800 crore have been signed for this project with prospective investors.

Himachal Pradesh is the second state where a bulk drugs park is being set up while only three states have been granted this key project. Its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister on October 13.

For the Rs 1,923-crore Bulk Drug Park Project, the Central grant will be worth Rs 1,118 crore while the state government will contribute the remaining amount of Rs 804. 54 crore. The drug park is expected to attract an investment of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore and likely to generate employment for 15,000-20,000 persons. The project is slated to provide a major fillip to the socio-economic development of the region. Setting up of this park will reduce export dependence of active pharmaceutical ingredients of the pharmaceutical industries.

Apart from these projects, as many as 209 industrial projects were approved in the state this year which are slated to generate employment for 25,564 persons, while fetching an investment of Rs 8,314.98 crore. This includes a Rs 3,000-crore project for manufacturing bullet proof jackets and ammunition for the Army by SMPP Private Limited (defence).

In a bid to develop the state’s industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh, the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC) has initiated an exercise under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor Project. It will provide ease of logistics to the industry, create jobs and spur economic growth.

The image of the industry was, however, sullied with cases of spurious drug manufacturing by Arya Pharma and Aclime Formulations coming to fore in the Baddi industrial area. The firms possessed a food licence but diverted their manufacturing towards allopathic drugs in violation of the norms.

In another case, unauthorised manufacturing of spurious drugs was detected from an industrial unit Trizal Formulation at Baddi where the plot owner had sub-let the premises without completion of the codal formalities. This led to the arrest of four persons — Atul Gupta of Auraiya, Vijay Kaushal of Indore, Mohit Bansal of Agra and Naresh Kumar of Morabadad — by the officials of the state drugs department. Unauthorised manufacturing of drugs worth crores was unearthed and these drugs were sold through the wholesale pharmacy of the main accused Mohit Bansal from Agra.