The Hyderabad Pharma City is to be equipped with a three million litres per day (MLD) common effluent treatment plant (CETP). For the development of the common facility, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), the nodal agency for the project, intends to access Central funds.
The Pharma City was conceived by the State government a few years ago with multiple objectives of creating a large, integrated facility, building on the Hyderabad’s position as a pharma hub and also, overtime, facilitate relocation of pharmaceutical units within the city to the new facility.
The CETP will be at the core of the pollution control measures proposed as part of the project that will be developed over several thousand acres on the outskirts.
TSIIC recently moved ahead with the preliminary work of selecting a consultant who will aid the process of TSIIC seeking access to central funding for the plants. Funds for the project are proposed to be sourced from Development of Common Facility Centre for Bulk Drugs (DCFC-BD). This is part of the Scheme for Development of Pharmaceutical Industry of the Centre’s Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP). The selected consultant will function as the principal advisor to TSIIC and expected to provide comprehensive advisory services and coordinate with master planning and design consultant.
The TSIIC move comes in the backdrop of an expert committee of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommending changes in the environmental clearance accorded for the project. The recommendation, made with some conditions, followed the State government approaching the committee for a couple of changes. While one of them sought permission to use imported coal in view of issues with availability of natural gas, the other was a request allowing units in Pharma City with effluents above 25 kilolitres per day to dispose the same into CETP.
