UP Govt to come up with its own pharmacy park in Lalitpur

Abhishek Awasthi.

UP Govt takes step to come up with its own pharmacy park in Lalitpur after thumbs down from the centre Planning to build this park from the ground up.

Lucknow: After losing hope of receiving a bulk drug park or pharmacy park from the Central Government, the Yogi government of the state has begun planning to build this park from the ground up.

It can be announced at the Global Investors Summit or in the budget for the financial year 2023–24. The government is considering setting up a park at Saidpur in Lalitpur, where the proposal was sent to the central government.

The Center announced the establishment of three bulk drug/pharmaceutical parks across the country.

UP had sent a recommendation to the Center to set up a garden on 2000 acres of land at Saidpur in Lalitpur. Twelve other states also staked a claim.

The Central Government selected Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh for this project in October-November 2022. The proposals of 10 states, including UP and Maharashtra, could not be approved. Given the Global Investors Summit, the state has received MoUs worth Rs 16,000 crore in the pharma sector.

It is believed that if a pharma park is established in Lalitpur, there will be no difficulty getting formal proposals from domestic and foreign pharma companies. A senior government official said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set up a high-level committee under the leadership of his advisor Avnish Kumar Awasthi and advisor (food security) Dr. GN Singh for a detailed investigation of the possibilities of getting this project off the ground from the state government level.

The delegation was sent to Lalitpur. The consultants have sent their report regarding the establishment of this park to the Chief Minister after the on-site visit, discussions with the developers of the pharma sector and local officials, and talks with the local people. In this, the establishment of the park has been recommended. It has been said that for the approval of UPCIDA Pharma Park, immediate further action should be initiated. Financial assistance has been asked to be made available from the budget.About 15 thousand crores of rupees will be spent on establishing the park.

It has been suggested that arrangements be made gradually from the state government’s budget. It is estimated that Rs 1500 crore will be spent on STP construction, water supply, steam generation, roads, a boundary wall, electricity, etc.

Even if 50–100 acres are allotted to pharmaceutical companies in a total of 2000 acres, at least 15–20 large teams will be established with an investment of up to 50,000 crores.

The high-level committee has said that if all necessary clearances are obtained by making the infrastructure of the Pharma Park world-class, then a 30 to 50 thousand crore investment is possible in the next two years. Hence the recommendation of the park—the proposed land is in the apparent possession of the government and not disputed at the local level. – Many investors from the pharmaceutical sector have found this site suitable and have assured investment. – The raw material of the pharmaceutical sector is petrochemical. Bina Refinery is near Lalitpur situated in central India.

Here, the work of expanding the airport at the headquarters, along with road and rail traffic, is in progress for better logistic connectivity. The distance between big cities like Gwalior, Bhopal, and Khajuraho is less than 250 km. There are airports in all these three cities. The system for electricity, water, and other utilities is improving.

Saidpur-Jamni Dam will be helpful in this. If the state takes this project forward, efforts can be made to seek help from the Center.