The Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA) has demanded to the Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KPCB) to accord pollution control clearance to a large number of tiny and small ayurvedic drug manufacturing units in the state as they have been classified under the Green category by the union ministry of environment and forests.

In an effort to simplify the procedures and to categorize the industrial projects on the basis of its pollution potential, the ministry of environment and forests had broadly classified the industries under three categories of Red, Orange and Green in decreasing order of severity of pollution. Green category represented marginally polluting units. The Ayurveda drug manufacturing industries except those involved in producing solvent extracts are classified under the Green category.

“Despite this recognition by the ministry of environment & forests, we understand that the officials of the Pollution Control Board are refusing to give consent/clearance to these units,” JSD Pani, president, KIMMA told Pharmabiz.

There are 185 ayurvedic drug manufacturing units Karnataka out of which almost 100 units are tiny units having annual turnover between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore per annum and are situated in the residential areas across the State. Most of them are functioning for the past 20 to over 50 years from the same location.

The contribution of these units to the public health care and in particular to Indian system of medicine is laudable and needs all encouragement from public as well as from the Government agencies, added the KIMMA president.

The effluents that may be generated by these tiny units are comparatively much lesser than the effluents generated by the hotels, marriage and other public gathering halls functioning in the residential areas. Considering these facts, KIIMA has called upon the Karnataka Pollution Control Board to accord the clearance of these tiny Ayurveda drug manufacturing units functioning in residential areas across the state.

The Karnataka Pollution Control Board should make efforts to seek a feedback from the director, department of Ayush, Government of Karnataka about the status of such tiny units as the Department of Ayush is the regulatory authority to issue license for manufacture and to monitor the quality of the products vide Chapter IV A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules made thereunder, said Pani.