HYDERABAD: Noted environmentalist Mahesh Chandra Mehta, along with city-based environmentalists and activists K Purushotham Reddy and Kishan, have launched a campaign against the Telangana government’s ambitious Pharma City project. Alleging that the project would pose a serious threat to the environment, the activists are opposing its establishment.
Speaking at a round table here on Wednesday, Mehta urged public to raise their voice against the project which could cause severe pollution by creating large amount of drug waste. He advised environmentalists to involve public in their movement to prevent creation of another Patancheru.
Purushotham Reddy accused the state government of violating law by skipping environmental and social impact assessments to acquire land from farmers and also ridiculed the government’s attempt to promote it as ‘Green Pharma City’.
“There is nothing green about the project. It is a clear violation of law to benefit rich pharma industrialists by granting them all resources cheaply,” he said.
Environmentalists, coming under an umbrella ‘Concerned Citizens’, plan to intensify their campaign by visiting villages and educational institutes near the project. They also demanded that the government release a white paper on the current status of the Patancheru industrial area.