PUNE After the Bombay high court directed the state government to hand-over a vaccine manufacturing unit located in Pune district to an associate of Bharat Biotech for vaccine production, the forest department said it will complete the process within the next three days.
A division bench of Justices K K Tated and N R Borkar on May 6 heard an application filed by Karnataka’s Biovet Private Limited, seeking direction to the Maharashtra government to hand over possession of the manufacturing unit at Manjari Khurd village in Pune.
Rahul Patil, deputy conservator of forest (Pune division), said his department, which owns the land, will cooperate with the procedure while formalities related to the hand-over will be completed in two-three days, following which the pharma company can make arrangements for vaccine production.
The unit was first being used by Intervet India Pvt Ltd, a multinational and subsidiary of Merck & Co, after land was granted to it in 1973 to manufacture vaccines for the foot and mouth disease. Later Intervet decided to exit business operations in India and entered into an agreement with Biovet for the transfer of the land and manufacturing unit.
However when Biovet sought the Maharashtra government’s approval for the transfer, the forest department claimed the land was reserved and the initial 1973 grant itself was a violation.
{{/usCountry}}However when Biovet sought the Maharashtra government’s approval for the transfer, the forest department claimed the land was reserved and the initial 1973 grant itself was a violation.
{{/usCountry}}Biovet later approached the Bombay High Court challenging the forest department’s order.
“The land belongs to the forest department. Now according to the HC order it will be given to them temporarily to manufacture Covid vaccines,” said Patil.
Patil clarified that the use of this manufacturing unit is approved on a temporary basis to produce life-saving vaccines during the pandemic. “That land was assigned to the company before. Infrastructure is ready on that land. As per the court order we will handover it to the concerned party,” said Patil.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that the process to activate the vaccine plant in Pune will be expedited. “We want to vaccinate everyone in the state to defeat the virus. I have directed the Pune Collector to make the land available for Bharat Biotech’s vaccine plant,” said Ajit Pawar in Mumbai at an online event.
The vaccine manufacturing facility is situated in a village in Manjari Khurd in Haveli taluka, on land measuring 11.58 hectares.
Advanced oxygen plant in Kolhapur
Minister of state for home and information technology Satej Patil, has announced the setting up of an advanced oxygen plant on the premises of the Gokul dairy brand in Kolhapur, amid a dire need for oxygen during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Gokul is a prominent milk brand from the Kolhapur District Co-operative Milk Producers Union. The plant will fulfil the additional requirement of oxygen for Kolhapur.