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Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Harshwardhan Singh Chauhan will leave for Germany on Friday (November 8, 2024) to seek investment for the Bulk Drug Pharma Park in Una and Medical Devices Park in Nalagarh.
The Industries Minister would be accompanied by Congress MLAs Suresh Kumar (Bhoranj), Bhuvneshwar Gaur (Manali) and Vinod Sultanpuri (Kasauli). Three top officials of the Industries Department would also be part of the high-level delegation.
They would be participating in an “International Medical Fair”, where participants and companies from across the globe would be present. After flying for Germany on November 8, the delegation will return on November 17.
The Congress government in Himachal is focusing big tome on the development of these two parks, which can prove game-changers for the hill state in terms of investment, revenue and employment generation.
The government, however, has been tightlipped on how much investment was garnered during past such events abroad.
The Newz Radar had sent specific queries on the email addresses of the Industries Minister (both personal and official), Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena and the Director of Industries seeking to know how much investment was realised following roadshows that were conducted in Germany, the Netherlands and the UAE in 2019.
During these events, 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed with proposed investments amounting to Rs 2,200 crore.
The Newz Radar also sought to know the outcome of the two investor interaction meetings conducted in Chandigarh on September 5, 2021, and March 21, 2022.
The two queries put forth by The Newz Radar to the government were:
1. What tangible investments have come through on the ground as a result of these efforts?
2. How many of the projects under these MoUs have been executed or are currently operational?
The mails with queries were sent by The Newz Radar on November 1, 2024, at 3.46 pm, but till the filing of this report no reply was received from any government representative.
Ambitious govt projects
Located at Haroli in Una district, the Bulk Drug Pharma Park is a landmark project marked as a national priority.
Its primary goal is to invigorate the state’s pharmaceutical industry and create a significant number of jobs for local residents, supporting economic growth and development.
Designed to become a hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, the project is projected to attract investments worth between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 crore, making it a critical investment destination in the region.
The park will also be a major source of employment, with an estimated 15,000 new jobs to be created.
Meanwhile, the under-construction Medical Device Park in Nalagarh is grappling with a severe financial crisis.
The state government has decided to construct the medical devices park from its own resources and return Rs 30 crore to the central government received almost two years ago.
The project is to be built on 265 acres of land at a cost of Rs. 350 crore. If the state government had not returned this money, it would have had to provide land to the industrialists at Re 1 per square metre, power at Rs 3 per unit, water, maintenance and warehouse facilities for 10 years without any charge, said a state spokesperson.
