Hyderabad Pharma City (HPC), the flagship $10-billion pharma park project of Telangana, is likely to be scrutinised by the new Congress government. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will review the state of major industrial investment and projects soon, according to official sources. 

“There have been some issues in the land acquisition for the HPC, including some legal tangles, as some of the farmers are opposing the land acquisition modalities. A review of the project is almost certain,’‘ a senior official told businessline. 

The erstwhile BRS government had postponed the actual launch of the project and land allotment to industries on account of various issues. The BRS government had claimed that about 500 pharma and life sciences companies were interested in setting up facilities in the upcoming city, and that the process of allotment for over 100 firms was ready to be done. A few month before the elections, the then IT Minister KT Rama Rao, said all domestic and global pharma majors were ready to set up units in the pharma city.

According to government data, the life sciences sector in Telangana attracted ₹6,400-crore investment from 215 companies in 2021-22, which was 200 per cent more than the investment attracted by the industry at ₹2,766 crore from about 150 companies in FY21. The data for FY23 is yet to be confirmed.  A few months ago, the Telangana High Court nullified a notification for acquiring 250 acres of land in Yacharam mandal of Ranga Reddy district. The process, it ordered, had to start afresh. 

farmers raise objection

The previous government had planned to acquire a total of 18,000 acres of land, of which, 10,000 acres have been acquired. The local farmers in some villages raised objections to the acquisition modalities, including compensation and promise of allotment of developed land after the completion of the project. 

The government had offered one gunta (121 sq.yds) of developed land (per acre of land given to project) to farmers within the project site. Besides compensation for land acquisition according to the Act, the government had earlier assured those who have handed over their land to the project would be given at least one eligible job per family, and that the necessary training will be provided at government cost.