NGT notice to Centre, firm for starting work on bulk drug park without environment clearance

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Himachal Pradesh Bulk Drug Park Infrastructure Ltd, directing them to file their replies to the allegation that the construction of the drug park in Una district has been started before securing the environment clearance for the project. The notice has been issued on a petition filed by Rohit.

The petitioner alleged before the NGT that M/s Himachal Pradesh Bulk Drug Park Infrastructure Ltd (HPBDPIL) had proposed to set up a drug park on 1405 acres at Polian Beet in Haroli tehsil of Una district.

He stated that the HPBDPIL had started construction work on the site even before receiving the environment clearance for it. He submitted before the NGT that for the project in question, the environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006, was required. Though a public hearing had been held, the environment clearance had not been received till now. The project proponent had started construction work even before obtaining the environmental clearance. Both parties had been directed to file their replies before the NGT before the next date of hearing on September 2.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the bulk drug park in Una on October 22, 2022. The Union Government had allotted three bulk drug parks in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. In Himachal, the project was envisaged to attract an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and provide employment to about 50,000 people.

Sources said that the Central Government had given Rs 250 crore as the first instalment for the implementation of the project and the state government had also provided Rs 50 crore. The total cost of project had been pegged at about Rs 1,900 crore. The Central Government would give about Rs 900 crore to the state government for the project.

Initially, the state government was looking for a private partner for the construction of the bulk drug park. However, now, it had decided to invest directly in the project.