Monday, January 10, 2011

U'khand wants IDPL land to build temple replicas

Close on the heels of the revival plan of the Indian Drug Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), the Uttarakhand government is formulating a plan to acquire 100 acres of industrial land of its Rishikesh plant for constructing replicas of top Indian temples.

State Principal Secretary (Tourism ) Rakesh Sharma is holding talks with the top officials of the IDPL for the purpose of building replicas of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Konark, Akashardham and other top temples, as part of a tourism project. IDPL officials confirmed the development and said talks in this regard have already been held.

“Mr Rakesh Sharma had come to the IDPL office at Rishikesh recently to hold talks over this tourim project,” said a top IDPL official. Siginificantly, the move came at a time when the Centre is in advanced stages of discussions regarding the revival plan of IDPL.

However, the move to acquire the IDPL land ran into controversy with Union Minister of State for Labour Harish Rawat opposing the project saying the move would badly affect the revival of the IDPL.

“The latest proposal regarding the revival of IDPL is being discussed by a group of ministers in the central government. Any plan to acquire 100 acres of land of IDPL will adversely affect the revival chances,” said Rawat.

The Rishikesh factory was set up in 1967 across a vast 850-acre land. In the 1990s, the IDPL moved the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction for its revival plan after incurring losses. The centre is now preparing a special package for the revival of the IDPL.

BS

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