telangana-s-green-pharma-city-project-triggers-protests-from-locals

The farmers and social activists are up in arms against the proposed Green Pharma City on the outskirts of Hyderabad, raising environmental concerns.

 

At stake is the displacement of four villages and the loss of close to 20,000 acres of farmland. The Green Pharma City is set to be developed at Mucherla, spread across the adjoining Rangareddy and Mahabubnagar districts and is envisioned as a comprehensive hub for drug manufacturing, biotech, and life sciences companies.

 

Noted environmentalist Purushotham Reddy accused the Telangana government of violating law by skipping environmental and social impact assessments to acquire land from farmers and also ridiculed the government’s attempt to promote it as ‘Green Pharma City’.

 

“There is nothing green about the project. It is a clear violation of law to benefit rich pharma industrialists by granting them all resources cheaply,” he said.

 

Environmentalists, coming under an umbrella of ‘Concerned Citizens’, plan to intensify their campaign by visiting villages and educational institutes near the project.

 

The ruling Congress has made a volte-face on the issue. Despite promising in its election manifesto to scrap the controversial project if elected to power, the Congress government had submitted before the High Court in September last year that the Green Pharma City would be continued and there was no change in the earlier decision regarding land acquisition for the project.

 

The government also assured that the farmers and other landowners would be given fair and reasonable compensation for their lands.

 

In November last year, six major pharma companies came forward to establish green pharma units and expand their operations in the Green Pharma City.

 

The firms -- MSN Group, Laurus Labs, Gland Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma and Hetero Labs -- signed MoUs with the state government in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

 

These companies will invest around Rs 5,620 crore and create 12,490 jobs. The government has agreed to allot land to these companies in the Green Pharma City.

 

However, the villagers in the area are strongly opposed to the project, saying it would cause serious pollution and displace many families.

 

The opposition to the project predates the 2023 Assembly elections, which the Congress won with a majority. However, villagers feel betrayed by the party.

 

In its election manifesto, the party had promised to review the project and take steps to abolish it.

 

The protestors remain resolute in their stance. Their next step involves approaching the courts, with funds for the legal battle being crowdsourced from the farmers themselves, showing their determination not to surrender their lands to the project.