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MPSBB takes action against Mumbai based company for non-compliance to BD Act
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Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai
July 11 , 2017
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Following the access and benefit sharing (ABS) notification of November
21, 2014 of the Biological Diversity (BD) Act, Madhya Pradesh (MP)
became the country’s first state to register a case of non-compliance as
MP State Bio-diversity Board (MPSBB) and the Forest Department raided
and seized more than two quintals of herbs from Mumbai headquartered
Konark Herbal and Health Care Company.
The Madhya Pradesh
Bio-diversity Enforcement Cell which conducted the raid had been
constituted before the proceedings of the raid, which is the first in
the country.
Officials of the company were arrested and presented
before the Himachal Pradesh (HP) High Court (HC) for illegally
transporting salai gond which is a bio-resource from Shivpuri to HP for
commercial use. The factory of Konark Herbal and Health Care Company is
situated in Kala Amb of HP.
The company was manufacturing food
and medicinal products besides cosmetics after extracting oil from herbs
purchased from traders of Madhya Pradesh and other states and selling
them at exorbitant prices. MPSBB in coordination with Himachal
Bio-diversity Board (HPBB) took nearly 5 days in the proceedings in the
case in which about 50 persons were engaged.
While investigating
the case it was found that the firm’s parent company is in Daman with
headquarters is in Mumbai. The annual turnover of the company is Rs.35 to Rs.50 crore with two factories in Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh.
As
per the ABS notification of BD Act, manufacturers are accountable to
share details of the source from where raw material has been procured in
Form I and further submission of the same to the respective state
biodiversity boards (SBBs).
It also stipulates that violation of
Sections 7 and 24 (2) of BD Act, 2002 by not giving prior intimation to
SBB in case of access to biological resources for commercial purposes,
companies shall be held liable and punishable with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to 3 years or with fine which may extend to Rs.5 lakhs or with both under Section 55 (2) of the BD Act.
Officials
from the MPSBB said that Konark Herbal and Health-Care Company had not
acquired the permission of any state including Madhya Pradesh for
commercial use of bio-resources (herbs) under Section- 7 of
Bio-diversity Act-2002, although the company is operating since 2010.
As
per the ABS notification, dated November 21, 2014 the benefit sharing
obligation from trader and manufacturer shall be in the range of 1 to 3
per cent and 3 to 5 per cent respectively of the purchase price of the
biological resources. However, there is option to pay benefit sharing on
sale price of the biological resources accessed for commercial
utilisation under the law. For annual gross ex factory sale of product,
in case of Rs.1 crore benefit sharing will be 0.1 per cent, for Rs.1 to Rs.3 crore, it would be 0.2 per cent, for above Rs.3 crores turn over, the benefit sharing will be 0.5 per cent.
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TOPICS
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