 "PET makers blame glass firm for ban plea")
The tussle over a ban on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for pharmaceutical packaging has PET Manufacturers' Association saying that Hindustan National Glass and Industries Limited (HNGIL) is manipulating citizen bodies on the issue.
In an affidavit at the National Green Tribunal, the association cited a series of mails exchanged between some non-government organisations (NGOs), including Him Jagriti that filed the case in this regard, and HNGIL.
"Him Jagriti is nothing more than a mere front of HNGIL, true applicant in these proceedings," the affidavit says. HNGIL did not respond to queries sent by this newspaper.
If the NGT goes ahead with a ban on PET bottles for pharmaceutical packaging, it would hit the Rs 4,000-crore sector, led by producers Reliance Industries, Dhunseri Petrochem and JBF Industries.
It was in 2013 that Him Jagriti, an Uttarakhand-based NGO, approached the Union ministry of health for a ban on PET in pharma packaging. The ministry assigned Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) to probe. Based on a test conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH), the Board in November that year recommended phasing out of PET bottles for pharma packaging.
AIIHPH had five different pharma preparations packaged in PET bottles tested and said antimony, chromium, lead and diethylhexyl phthalate were present at room temperature.
The ban move was put on hold, following industry pressure. Then, Him Jagriti approached the NGT for a blanket ban on use of PET bottles. The next hearing is on November 30.
"Him Jagriti has been put up by HNGIL solely to subserve its commercial interests," the affidavit contends. It names some HNGIL officials in this regard.
About 600,000 tonnes of PET is produced in India every year, of which the pharma industry uses 100,000 tonnes.
According to Him Jagriti, a study at the Indian Institute of Toxicology and Research, Lucknow, showed similar results. "Even if there were e-mail exchanges, does that take away the merit of the case? The substances found in PET may cause cancer, diabetes, endocrine damage, kidney damage, reproductive diseases and obesity," said Ajay Jugran, president of Him Jagriti.
In an affidavit at the National Green Tribunal, the association cited a series of mails exchanged between some non-government organisations (NGOs), including Him Jagriti that filed the case in this regard, and HNGIL.
"Him Jagriti is nothing more than a mere front of HNGIL, true applicant in these proceedings," the affidavit says. HNGIL did not respond to queries sent by this newspaper.
If the NGT goes ahead with a ban on PET bottles for pharmaceutical packaging, it would hit the Rs 4,000-crore sector, led by producers Reliance Industries, Dhunseri Petrochem and JBF Industries.
It was in 2013 that Him Jagriti, an Uttarakhand-based NGO, approached the Union ministry of health for a ban on PET in pharma packaging. The ministry assigned Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) to probe. Based on a test conducted by the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH), the Board in November that year recommended phasing out of PET bottles for pharma packaging.
AIIHPH had five different pharma preparations packaged in PET bottles tested and said antimony, chromium, lead and diethylhexyl phthalate were present at room temperature.
The ban move was put on hold, following industry pressure. Then, Him Jagriti approached the NGT for a blanket ban on use of PET bottles. The next hearing is on November 30.
"Him Jagriti has been put up by HNGIL solely to subserve its commercial interests," the affidavit contends. It names some HNGIL officials in this regard.
About 600,000 tonnes of PET is produced in India every year, of which the pharma industry uses 100,000 tonnes.
According to Him Jagriti, a study at the Indian Institute of Toxicology and Research, Lucknow, showed similar results. "Even if there were e-mail exchanges, does that take away the merit of the case? The substances found in PET may cause cancer, diabetes, endocrine damage, kidney damage, reproductive diseases and obesity," said Ajay Jugran, president of Him Jagriti.