Pharma clusters: Is Telangana government on the back foot

The fact that there have been many protests in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Kodangal constituency, is forcing the officials to reconsider the plans over establishment of pharma villages or go slow on the project.

Hyderabad: Is the government on a back foot over its plans to establish 10 pharma villages (clusters) across the State? Well, considering the widespread protests by farmers and residents over parting their lands for the pharma villages, it appears so.

The fact that there have been many protests in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Kodangal constituency, is forcing the officials to reconsider the plans over establishment of pharma villages or go slow on the project.

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Further, when the High Court sought State government’s clarification over the pharma city project, it assured that the project was very much in consideration.

Ever since the government issued a notification for acquiring 71 acres at Polepally village in Dudyal mandal for establishing a Pharma Village in August this year, there have been widespread protests from farmers and residents’ over parting their land.

Before the attack on Vikarabad Collector Prateek Jain November 12 at Lagacherla, farmers and villagers staged protests at Rotibanda thanda and other villages under Dudyala mandal.

Not just in Kodangal constituency, there have been protests in Sangareddy as well. Farmers in Dappur, Vaddy and Malgi under Nyalkal mandal are up in arms against the plans to set up a pharma village. They made their intentions very clear to the government.

After announcing that the tailor-made land developed for setting up units at the Pharma City in Mucherla was scrapped, the State government in the name of decentralizing pharma industries declared its plans to set up 10 pharma villages across Telangana.

Accordingly, notification was issued for land acquisition in Polepally and other villages in Vikarabad district. Similarly measures were intensified for land acquisition in Sangareddy also.

But the status of other pharma villages is still unclear. Initially, the government had planned to set up them in Nalgonda, Medak and other places, including one at Mucherla.

The Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) is entrusted with the task of setting up the pharma villages. However, TGIIC officials are tight-lipped about sharing the locations of the proposed pharma villages, giving enough indications about the plans.

Apart from farmers and villagers, the proposal to set up 10 pharma villages evoked mixed response from industry as well. While a section of industrialists claim that the move would decentralize growth and provide employment in different areas, others are skeptical about the challenges involved in establishing new pharma clusters.

They are apprehensive about time consumption for land acquisition and obtaining environmental clearances, not to mention about the legal hurdles. In the past, land owners had approached the courts opposing the government’s plans.