While the Telangana government's vision for decentralised pharma villages is ambitious - promising economic growth and job creation - significant challenges lie ahead, particularly with land acquisition and environmental clearances.
Published Nov 25, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 25, 2024 | 3:07 PM
Significant challenges lie ahead for Telangana's ambitious pharma villages
The Congress-led Telangana government has been navigating through choppy waters after shifting its focus from the previous BRS regime’s Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC) project to ‘Pharma Villages’.
The HPC project now stands scrapped and a decentralised approach is taking shape, but not without its challenges.
A case in point is the violence that erupted in the sleepy village of Lagacharla in Vikarabad district on 11 November. The embers continue to smoulder even now.
On that fateful day, officials were visiting the village for a public hearing on a proposed pharma unit, when villagers turned against the officials and physically assaulted them.
The violence highlighted the simmering tensions surrounding the state’s new policy of establishing 10 pharma villages, aiming to create at least 500,000 jobs across Telangana. While the collector narrowly escaped unharmed, others were not so fortunate.
After coming to power in December last year, the Congress government decided to give a makeover to Telangana with a particular focus on revitalising Hyderabad the state’s hinterland.
It is quite possible that this renewed push for development was driven by CM’s desire to leave a lasting legacy in the state.
“If I really wanted to earn money, I would not have become the CM. I could have done some “abracadabra” in land deals in places like Kokapet in Hyderabad. I want to leave a better Telangana for posterity,” he recently said declaring his long term vision for the state.
The Telangana government did not waste much time after it brought in the concept of pharma villages. Officials have been asked to identify lands in the villages where infrastructure would be developed for setting up pharma units. It has already been issuing notifications for land acquisitions in the areas earmarked for developing pharma clusters.
Telangana government officials say that pharma villages intends to decentralise the pharma industry and spread it across several parts of the state. Its concentration at one place – in Kanduruku, Yacharam and Kadthal as envisaged by the erstwhile BRS government – may lead to too much pollution and give rise to legal issues that might derail the entire project.
Under the new model, pharma villages are intended to be smaller, with more manageable units that provide necessary infrastructure, including mobility for workers, housing, schools, and medical facilities. They will come up in Vikarabad, Medak, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, the officials said.
Keeping in view the benefits in spreading out the pharma units, the Revanth Reddy government has decided to develop 10 pharma villages between Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR) and the Regional Ring Road (RRR).
Each pharma village will cover 1,000 to 2,000 acres and will host between 20 to 30 companies. The plan includes developing a comprehensive infrastructure that ensures connectivity to national and state highways, with easy access to the RRR. The total cost for industrial and social infrastructure development is estimated at a staggering ₹1 lakh crore.
ORR surrounds Hyderabad like a necklace and the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR) is set to come up with a much larger radius, encircling Hyderabad.
The villages would be self-sustaining and would have connectivity to national and state highways as they would have easy access to the RRR. There would be skilling centres to ensure that local youth are equipped for job opportunities within these clusters. By decentralising the pharma industry, the government aims to reduce environmental impact while promoting employment opportunities in rural areas.
The previous BRS government had planned the Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC) on 14,000 acres, spread over the villages of Mutherla, Kandukur, and Kadthal – 30 km away from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
This project was intended to feature large-scale manufacturing units, a township, a pharma university, and R&D facilities and the proposal consisted of a light rail system in the pharma city to facilitate transportation within the pharma city. The land was also designated as a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) by the Union government.
However, the Congress government has scrapped the HPC plan in favour of a more decentralised approach with smaller pharma villages.
The land originally earmarked for the HPC is now expected to be repurposed for the creation of the ‘Fourth City’—a futuristic, self-sustaining global city envisioned by Chief Minister Reddy. This forms part of the broader vision to transform Hyderabad into a cleaner, more modern city, free of the pollution and traffic issues that have long plagued it.
A key part of this strategy involves relocating polluting industries, particularly pharmaceutical units, beyond the ORR but within the proposed RRR. The area outside the RRR is expected to focus on agriculture, with a goal to create self-sustaining rural communities and improve the quality of life in villages.
The aim is to rethink the city’s urban infrastructure, addressing the “mistakes committed in urban planning over the last 25 years and addressing them. It is like a middle-aged man trying to become fit and healthy. It would be initially difficult but over a period of time, the results would be very beneficial for both the city and the state,” said the CM.
The shift towards decentralised pharma clusters is part of the government’s strategy to mitigate risks associated with a mega-cluster.
“If one cluster slows down for any reason, the others would not be affected. If there are legal problems, they would be local to the cluster concerned,” explained a source from the CM’s office. By spreading out the pharma units across multiple locations, the Congress government hopes to reduce the impact of any challenges that may arise in a single location.
The development of these clusters will also include modern office spaces for businesses, with the vision of creating a version of “downtown Hyderabad” in the future city. The model aims to decentralise not just the pharma industry, but development as a whole, ensuring that both Hyderabad and the wider state benefit from the growth.
A source in the chief minister’s office said that the development of pharma clusters is part of the state government’s major initiative to transform the state into a USD 1 trillion economy. “It may not happen overnight, but we have started the journey to reach the goal,” the source said. The source added that the development plan for Telangana has been based on studying global cities like London.
While the government’s vision for decentralised pharma villages is ambitious – promising economic growth and job creation – significant challenges lie ahead, particularly with land acquisition and environmental clearances.
The protests in Lagacharla serve as a reminder of the resistance the government may face in acquiring land from farmers.
How the Revanth Reddy government navigates these issues will determine the success of the proposed pharma villages and the broader vision for Telangana’s transformation.
(Edited by Neena)
