HYDERABAD: Even as the Telangana government moves to reclaim 891 acres of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IDPL) land in Balanagar, several government departments have sought space for offices on the property.
The government has already earmarked 30 acres from the disputed land parcel. It allotted 20 acres to the newly formed Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC). Another 5 acres each went to the office of the deputy commissioner of police, Balanagar, and to the registration and stamps and industries departments, as reported by TOI.
The Medchal-Malkajgiri district collector issued allocation letters to the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (
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High Court Status Quo Delays Action
The allocations will come into effect only after the Telangana High Court vacates the recent status quo order. The court issued the order after IDPL filed a petition.
Officials said TGIIC plans to fence the entire 891-acre land parcel once it receives court permission. The move aims to prevent further encroachments.
Preliminary estimates from TGIIC and revenue authorities suggest that private individuals may have encroached on 50 to 60 acres. Some portions allegedly contain residential colonies. However, in a police complaint filed in January against 11 people at Balanagar police station, TGIIC estimated the encroached land at 14 acres.
"We have finalised an agency to fence the boundary of the IDPL land. Since the High Court granted status quo, fencing will begin only after court clearance," a senior TGIIC official said.
Officials Say Manufacturing Stopped Years Ago
Officials rejected claims that manufacturing activities still continue at the IDPL facility in Balanagar.
"The state government allotted the land in 1967. Later, authorities gave a portion to the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER). The pharmaceutical company became sick in 1992 and went to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 2003 for winding up," an official said.
Officials added that IDPL did not file an appeal after authorities referred the matter to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The then Rangareddy district collector resumed the remaining land in 2008 and handed it over to TGIIC.
According to the IDPL website, the company once manufactured 47 bulk synthetic drugs, including vitamins, sulphas, chloroquine, methyldopa and analgesics. It stopped bulk drug operations in 1996 and ended formulations production in 2003.
Officials said only the effluent treatment plant (ETP) still functions to process waste from nearby industrial units.