133-acre pharma park to come up in Fatehgarh Sahib

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

After struggling to stop the pharma industry shift to neighbouring tax-exempt hill states, Punjab is finally recognising the sector’s potential. A pharma park, with focus on bulk drug manufacturers, is coming up in Fatehgarh Sahib.

As the Centre is focusing on promoting bulk drug manufacturing here to reduce the country’s dependence on China for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and Key Starting Materials (KSM), Punjab has taken the initiative by acquiring 133 acres to set up the pharma park.

The spread of the Covid pandemic has led to an ever-increasing need for manufacturing APIs in India, more so because 80 per cent of APIs used in the formulations of list of essential medicines are sourced from China.

“The Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) has acquired land in Wazirabad village of Fatehgarh Sahib district. We will develop the land and soon allot it to pharma companies. The PSIEC has already decided the rates at which allotment is to be made (Rs39.5 lakh per acre) and on developing the site, which is connected to the highway and to a rail head,” Vini Mahajan, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) told The Tribune.

Punjab has sought the Centre’s approval to turn the pharma park into a mega pharma park under the new Central government scheme.

The pharma park, though approved almost four years ago, is yet to see the light of the day, even as a major chunk of the pharma industry (more than 650 units) is clustered in Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh. Punjab Government officials feel they could get a major chunk of investment from these companies, besides more than 200 pharma units in Punjab, as it is preparing a plan for a state-of-the-art common effluent treatment plant in its pharma park.

Jagdeep Singh, president, Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association, said Punjab had a number of bulk drug manufacturers, making both APIs and KSMs, but they moved to tax-exempt states to avail benefits. “If Punjab immediately offers land and eases the regulatory mechanism, it stands a good chance of becoming a hub for API and KSM.”