Madhya Pradesh State Bio-diversity Board and the Forest Department raided Konark Herbal and Health Care Company of Himachal Pradesh and became the country’s first State to register a case of violation of Bio-diversity Act-2002. To make the raid by “Operation MP Bio-2017” effective, the Madhya Pradesh Bio-diversity Enforcement Cell has been constituted before the proceedings, which is the first in the country.
Board’s Member Secretary Srinivas Murthy who lead the Operation MP Bio-2017 told 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 institute is operating since 2010.
The institute is collecting bio-resources against the Act from traders of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The firm’s General Manager Harikishen Shukla was arrested on charges of violation of Bio-diversity Act and presented before the Nahan (HP) court. Owner Rakesh Gupta, who resides in Mumbai, has also been asked to be present for his statement.
Notably, for the first time in the state and in the country, Pushpendra Kushwaha and Piyush Kushwaha were arrested and presented before the court for illegally transporting salai gond (bio-resource) from Shivpuri to Himachal Pradesh for commercial use by Konark Herbal and Health Care Company situated in Kala Amb of Himachal Pradesh by Chief Conservator of Forests Gwalior Kanchan Devi in May.
While investigating the case it was found that the firm’s parent company is in Daman and headquarters is in Mumbai. The annual turnover of the company is Rs 35-50 crores with two factories in Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh.
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 on very high prices.
The company owns total 54 factories with an annual turnover of Rs 2 to 2.5 thousand crores.Madhya Pradesh Bio-diversity Board in coordination with Himachal Bio-diversity Board took nearly 5 days in the proceedings in the case in which about 50 persons were engaged.
More than two quintals of herbs, documents and extracts of herbs were seized in the raid which will be further sent to the laboratory for testing.