Ranbaxy accused of not following court orders
villagers of Paonta Sahib tehsil in Himachal Pradesh have accused pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy of not complying with an order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court passed on July 27, 2006, staying its expansion plans.
In January 2007, villagers approached the state pollution control board (pcb) seeking details of the plant's incinerator. They alleged that the company was operating the incinerator at night, in disregard of the court order.
According to Ranbaxy, the new incinerator was on trial and was being monitored by a private consultant firm, SGS India Private Ltd in Gurgaon. Farmers, however, suspect the veracity of the claim. Sources in the Himachal Pradesh pcb told Down To Earth that the board was unrepresented during the incinerator's trial run.
The court had in July 2006 indicted the plant for legal irregularities including multiple violations of land and environmental laws (see