Telangana government begins scouting for land to set up pharma villages

Vikarabad district administration issues notification to acquire 71 acres; two pharma villages likely to come up in Nalgonda and Medak districts

Hyderabad: Even as the State Government issued a notification for acquiring 71 acres at Polepally village in Dudyal mandal for establishing a Pharma Village, industrialists are apprehensive about the challenges involved, particularly time consumption for land acquisition and obtaining environmental clearances.

In the name of decentralising pharma industries, the State government is proposing to establish 10 pharma villages in different districts. And, Polepally Pharma Village is one among the 10 proposed Pharma Villages, setting aside the tailor-made land developed for setting up units at the Pharma City in Mucherla.

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However, there is a mixed reaction from the industry over the State government’s decision to develop 10 pharma villages. While a section of industrialists opine that it could generate employment for youth in different places, others stress that securing land and obtaining environment clearances would be a challenge, not to mention about the legal hurdles.

The small cluster concept can be beneficial but it all depends on the State government’s commitment towards the effective implementation of the proposed ideas, said an office-bearer of the Federation of Pharma Entreprenuers Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

For the successful implementation of ideas, one industry giant should lead the initiatives proposed by the government in each cluster. Again, the government should come up with incentives for the industry, the office-bearer said.

Presenting other side of the coin, a member of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India said securing land and environmental clearances for the new pharma villages could be a challenge.

Considering the fact that land prices have shot up across the State, acquiring land would not be easy, especially legal hurdles. In the past, land owners had approached the courts opposing the government’s plans. This apart, local residents and social activists could also raise objections.

Further, to set up basic units, reasonable permissions should have to be obtained, but for manufacturing drugs and others, red zone clearances would have to be secured. This could consume time, the member said.

The Vikarabad district administration issued notification for land acquisition after the State government scrapped the Hyderabad Pharma City project at Mucherla, Kandukar, Kadthal and neighbouring areas in Rangareddy by the previous BRS government. The Congress government wants to diversify pharma clusters across the State and accordingly is scouting for land to establish pharma villages in different districts.

The previous government had proposed the Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC) as the world’s largest integrated cluster for pharmaceutical industries with thrust on R&D and manufacturing. The cluster, spread over nearly 14,000 acres, was recognised as a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) by the Centre, given its national and international importance. The project was to be developed at about 25 km from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).

There was also a proposal to establish a Life Sciences University and meetings were held with different universities in this regard.