Himachal Pradesh High Court
People For Responsible Goverance vs . on 30 November, 2022
Bench: Tarlok Singh Chauhan, Virender Singh
People for Responsible Goverance vs. .
State of H.P and another.
CWP No. 4379 of 2019 30.11.2022 Present: Mr. Rajnish Maniktala, Senior Advocate with Mr. Naresh Verma, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr. Ashok Sharma, Advocate General with Mr. Rajinder Dogra, Sr. Addl. A.G, Mr. Vinod Thakur, Mr. Shiv Pal Manhans, Addl.
A.Gs and Mr. Bhupinder Thakur, Dy. A.G for the respondents-State.
Mr. Sarthak Mehta, Advocate for
rrespondent No.2.
Mr. Vinod Kumar Thakur, Advocate for respondent No.6.
In compliance to the order dated 18th November, 2022, the respondents have placed on record the proceedings of the meeting and the following actionable points/outcomes of the same are as under:-
Actionable points/Outcomes of the meetings Following actions and steps have been decided to be undertaken by various Licensing and Regulatory Authorities and Departments of the State, as part of a coordinated effort for securing ABS, steps are as under:
1. State Biodiversity Board
i) Accomplish registration of traders and/or user industry and ensure filling of details of biological resources traded and/or utilized by them.
ii) Prepare a platform for online registration of traders and users with the State Biodiversity Board.
iii) Explore possibilities to verify annual details about biological resources with GST returns of concerned trader and/or user industry.
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manufacturing units involved in trade and/or utilization of biological resources.
v) To initiate 'Fair and Equitable sharing of the Benefits' other entities like traders, nutraceutical industry (Functional foods, dietary supplements and herbal/natural products), vegetable oil extraction/processing, breweries, paper and pulp industry, leather industry, medicinal and aromatic oil extraction units, fish and meat processing and packaging units, canned food manufacturing units (Repacking food, dairy units including milk chilling units), turpentine and rosin extraction units, seed companies, bioenergy industry (Ethanol, biodiesel and biogas), biochemicals (Resins, gums, dye, paints, lubricants, solvents, antibodies and vaccines), Biocosmetics (Soaps, lotions, and creams), Biomaterials (Biofibers, bio composites, biofoams and bioplastics), horticulture processing and packaging units, plyboard industry, sugar mills, microbial industry (Biofertilizers, biopesticides, biosurfactants, enzymes & other proteins, organic acids, metabolites and products), biotechnology based units, katha units etc.
vi) Prepare an online platform for sale of medicinal herbs cultivated and harvested by farmers of the State. The platform should include the information about name of the medicinal herb, quantity available, rates, description/quality of the material, mode of payment, mode of transportation available etc.
vii) Ensure uploading of the tenders and/or quotations floated by user industry for purchase of medicinal herbs or biological resources, on the proposed online platform for use by farmers.
viii) Creation of a knowledge cell for network of information on various aspects of biological resources from different fields of biodiversity like botany, zoology, biotechnology, microbiology, bioprospecting, agriculture, horticulture, forestry etc. from various R&D and Academic Institutions of the State.
2. Forest Department
i) Take NoC from HP State Biodiversity Board beforeissuing any export and/or transport permits for trade and/sale of biological resources and medicinal plants.
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permits, with State Biodiversity Board.
iii) Involve Biodiversity Management Committees during the process of issuance of export and/or transport permits.
3. State Forest Development Corporation
i) Explore possibilities of designating their depots for selling the medicinal plants.
4. Ayurveda Department
i) Take NoC from HP State Biodiversity Board beforeissuing and/or renewing licenses of the traders and manufacturing units involved in trade and/or utilization of biological resources.
ii) Take NoC from HP State Biodiversity Board beforerenewing the licenses of 53 Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani manufacturing units, as these have not responded to the directions dated August/September 2021 and December 2021 of the Biodiversity Board.
iii) Licenses of these 53 units to be suspended in event of further non-compliance.
iv) Ensure compliance under the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002,of all the bioresource based industry and tradersfalling under their purview.
v) Ensure registration of traders and/or industry units with HP State Biodiversity Board and ensure submission of annual details of biological resources traded and/or utilized by them.
5. Industry Department
i) Take NoC from HP State Biodiversity Board before permitting any industry using biological resources like ayurvedic manufacturing units, nutraceutical industry (Functional foods, dietary supplements and herbal/natural products), vegetable oil extraction/processing, breweries, paper and pulp industry, leather industry, medicinal and aromatic oil extraction units, fish and meat processing and packaging units, canned food manufacturing units (Repacking food, dairy units including milk chilling units), turpentine and rosin extraction units, seed companies, bioenergy industry (Ethanol, biodiesel and biogas), biochemicals (Resins, gums, dye, paints, lubricants, solvents, antibodies and vaccines), Biocosmetics (Soaps, lotions, and creams), Biomaterials (Biofibers, bio composites, ::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2022 20:35:37 :::CIS biofoams and bioplastics), horticulture processing .
and packaging units, plyboard industry, sugar mills, microbial industry (Biofertilizers, biopesticides, biosurfactants, enzymes & other proteins, organic acids, metabolites and products), biotechnology based units, katha units etc
6. Food Safety-cum-Health Safety and Regulation Department
i) Take NoC from HP State Biodiversity Board before permitting any nutraceutical industry like functional foods, dietary supplements and herbal/natural products etc. using biological resources.
7. HP State Agricultural Marketing Board
i) Allow selling of the medicinal plants in their designated mandis.
Let various Departments like Forest, Ayurveda, Industries, Food Safety-cum-Health Safety and Regulation Department etc. respond/obtain instructions, more particularly, with regard to the condition of 'NOC' being a pre-requisite for setting up Industries or continuing with the Industries that are using the biological produce.
List on 21st December, 2022.
( Tarlok Singh Chauhan )
Judge
November 30, 2022 ( Virender Singh )
(naveen) Judge
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