Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (Maha FDA) has initiated construction of a three-storey building on its 2.5 acre land in Aurangabad. This building will accommodate currently operational food and drug labs, managerial and technical departments of Maha FDA Aurangabad. The project estimated  to cost more than Rs. 9 crore, of which the government has already provided Rs. 1 crore 61 lakh to the agency. The rest of the funds needed for the project will be received after supplementary budget session.

Maha FDA Aurangabad have been operating in a rented place at Aurangpura, Nath Market in Aurangabad over a decade. The agency has bought land at Kanchanwadi, Aurangabad for its own premises, where the construction of the three-storey building has reached first floor. The agency now awaits for rest of the funds from government to take the project ahead.

The  joint commissioner Aurangabad, T A Thool said, “Government had provided us Rs. 1 crore 61 lakh out of the estimated cost of more than Rs. 9 crore for the project. We will be receiving the rest of the amount in two more phases. The next instalment fund will be received after supplementary budget then the project will proceed. The project is expected to complete in two years.”

Early this year, the FDA had earmarked a sum of Rs. 33 lakh to purchase equipments for upgrading of these labs. Before March 2011, both the labs will receive the equipments as part yearly upgradation of labs. The FDA lab in Mumbai has the capacity to test about 6500 samples of drugs and  cosmetics per year and its lab in Aurangabad is testing about 2500 samples per year. Every year state and central testing laboratories deal with 40,000 samples, in which Maharashtra alone contributes around 20 per cent by handling 8000 samples.

For testing of drugs and cosmetics as stated under Section 20 and 33 F of Drugs & Cosmetics Act 1940 & Rules thereunder, Maharashtra State had established Drugs Control Laboratory at Mumbai and at Aurangabad, under the administrative control of the commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra state.

Laboratory in Aurangabad operates in seven divisions – coding, chemical I, chemical II, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, cosmetics and central instrument.