Stalling: Is it a right move?

Succumbing to pressure from the employees' union of the Haffkine Institute, the government of Maharashtra has stalled the sale of a piece of land at the Institute.

On 9 June over 300 employees of the Haffkine Institute for Training, Research & Testing staged a dharna in front of the institute in Mumbai to protest the Maharashtra government's decision to sell 1,826 sq. m of land to the Enterovirus Research Centre (EVRC) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). With the intervention and assurance from the state health minister Digvijay Khanvilkar the dharna was withdrawn. And the EVRC was not able to buy the land.

The EVRC, housed at the premises of the Haffkine Institute, was upgraded in 1981 as a permanent research center of ICMR from a research unit. It has been engaged in studies on all major enteroviruses, including poliomyelitis and is now interested to expand its activities at the premises. The EVRC is located in the midst of nine major hospitals and research institutions at central Mumbai, Parel. Even the other permanent research centers of ICMR, like the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Institute of Immunohaematology and Genetic Research Center are also located close to EVRC. Based on the experimental data obtained, the center offers suggestions on national policies relating to the control of poliomyelitis, especially on the strategies of vaccination.

The problem
Sprawling over 27 acres in Parel, central Mumbai, the Haffkine Institute established in 1897 was handed over to the Maharashtra government in 1960. The institute is governed under the Society and Trust Act and comes under the purview and administrative jurisdiction of the charity commissioner. It is provided with 100 percent grants by the state government. Considering the facilities available at the Institute many pharmaceutical companies have become its clients and are using its bioavailability testing facilities. The institute has emerged as a multi disciplinary, full-fledged biomedical research center engaged in research on various aspects of infectious diseases.

In 1975 the production unit of the institute was segregated to form Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd, under Company's Act and the training, research and testing activities of the institute was strengthened through the inception of several new departments. The general secretary of the employees' organization–Shramik Utkarsha Sabha (SUS), Vijay Kamble, who led the dharna told BioSpectrum, "We are not against the selling of the land or research activities at the Institute's premises. Our interest is in the welfare of the employees and at same time growth of the R&D activities in the state."

In 1989 the Maharashtra government decided to use the vacant space at the Haffkine Institute to develop a Biotechnology Park. But it did not materialize. In 1996, the state government allotted a piece of land to ICMR but retracted its order later. Sources now say that there is no vacant piece of land at the institute.

The past
The Karnataka government too had faced a similar situation after the announcement of its Millennium Biotechnology Policy in 2001. The state government was interested in setting up a biotechnology park at the premises of the University of Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore. In a similar drama the state government succumbed to pressure from the employees and students of UAS, who expressed concerns about the environmental issues, raised their voice against this decision and staged a protest, forcing the government to roll back its decision.

The situation in Mumbai is a similar one. The dharna, which was held in support to express the anguish of the employees and in fulfilling their demands, is expected to create problems for those who are interested in setting up R&D and clinical research units in Mumbai. At present the state government is working on a focused project to develop Mumbai as clinical research hub utilizing the facilities it has at Parel.

The latest developments have forced the EVRC to think twice about its expansion plan at Haffkine Institute's premises. According to the sources, the EVRC is looking at some other locations in Mumbai. This may prove to be a setback for the research initiatives at Parel. In the interest of the growth of the sector, the government without bowing to the pressures has to take an appropriate step to sort out the employees' problems and to promote clinical research in the state and particularly in Mumbai.

Narayan Kulkarni
narayank@cmil.com