Chennai, May 27 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin
on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hand over
on lease, the Integrated Vaccine Complex (IVC) at Chengalpet
near here for production of vaccine to meet the growing demand.
In a letter to Mr Modi, which was handed over in Delhi by DMK
Parliamentary Party Leader T R Baalu and Industries Minister
Thangam Thennarasu, he said the modern and high capacity
vaccine manufacturing facility, set up by HLL Bio-Tech Limited
under the Union Ministry of Health, was lying unutilized.
He said the Centre had already invested around Rs 700 crores
in this facility, which is almost complete, but has been lying
unutilized for want of additional funds.
The recent attempt to find a private partner to run the IVC has
also not borne fruit, as there were no bidders for it, he noted.
Expressing his keenness that this modern facility must be made
operational immediately in the interest of Tamil Nadu as well as
the country, he said this would substantially enhance the nation's
vaccine production capacity and cater to the vaccine requirements
of the country as a whole and Tamil Nadu in particular.
'I wish to propose that the assets of IVC may be handed over
to the State government on lease, without any past liabilities
and with full operational freedom', he said.
The state government will identify a suitable private partner
immediately and will make all efforts to commence vaccine
production at the earliest, Mr Stalin said.
A suitable financial arrangement for Central government to recover
a part of its investment can be subsequently worked out, after the
commencement of operations, Mr Stalin said and sought Mr Modi's
intervention to hand over the assets of IVC owned by HBL to the
the Tamil Nadu government so that the facility could be put to use
at the earliest.
He also said that 'mass vaccination is the most potent weapon
available to us in this fight against COVID pandemic and hence
it is absolutely necessary that the domestic vaccine manufacturing
capacity was ramped up in accordance with Mr Modi's vision of
'Self-sufficient India'."
UNI GV 1440