Tamil Nadu: Centre Hasn’t Given The Nod To Operate Integrated Vaccine Complex, Says Health Secy

The health secretary said that the state government’s proposal was pointed out during a recent meeting with the union health minister and he in turn had said that the proposal could be looked into.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, the union government has only said that it would only look into the proposal to operate the integrated vaccine complex in Chengalpattu district and has not given its consent yet. 

Speaking to IANS, the health secretary said that the state government’s proposal was pointed out during a recent meeting with the union health minister and he in turn had said that the proposal could be looked into. He rejected the news reports claiming that the union government has given its in-principle approval to operate the integrated vaccine complex belonging to HLL Biotech Ltd.

Quoting the health secretary, a report in IANS said that the state government had proposed to take the integrated vaccine complex on lease without past liabilities and to operate it with the help of a private party. 

According to the report, Chief Minister MK Stalin in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought his government to hand over the integrated vaccine complex to the state government with full operational freedom and without past liabilities, and the state government would find a suitable third party to make it operational at the earliest. 

Suitable financial arrangements could be made to recover part of the central government’s investment could be worked out once the plant becomes operational, Stalin said, pointing out how the facility with high vaccine production capacity has been lying idle, as per the report. The central government has invested about Rs 700 crores in the facility.