‘State tie-up with Patanjali illegal’

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has criticised finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar for forming a state tie-up with yoga guru Baba Ramdev for his ayurveda products and alleged that another land grab was in the offing.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that the tie-up would allow Ramdev’s Patanjali brand to operate on forest land of 60,000 sq km. Mr Malik was responding to the Mr Mungantiwar’s announcement that the state would collaborate with Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali brand.

Mr Malik questioned the collaboration and alleged that the forest department was opening its land to a private institute, which was illegal. “The forest land cannot be given to any private person or institute. The state has over 20 per cent of the forest land and this is an effort to grab land. The government is inviting a private player to take possession of land in forest under the guise of promoting ayurveda. The minister cannot take such arbitrary decision and give land to Patanjali,” Mr Malik told reporters.

In an effort to increase production for the ‘Van Dhan Jan Dhan’ scheme, Mr Mungantiwar had proposed that excessive forest products be sold in bulk to Baba Ramdev. Mr Mungantiwar even met the yoga guru on Tuesday after which the tie-up was announced.

Mr Malik has expressed his misgivings about the tie-up with Patanjali when 100-years-old ayurvedic companies such as Dabur still existed in India. “There are other ayurvedic companies such as Dabur which has been functional since 1884, Hamdard 1906, Baidyanath 1917, Zandu 1910, Himalaya 1930, Charak 1947, Vicco 1952 and Imami 1974. What is the motive behind collaborating with just a nine-years-old Patanjali ” he questioned.

The tie-up process should have been carried out by floating competitive tenders if the government really wanted to promote ayurveda, the NCP leader said. He even threatened to oppose the move in the legislature and protest against it.

According to the forest department, the total area under forests in the state is 61,579 sq km and covers around 20 per cent of Maharashtra’s geographical area. There are 5,250 plant species available in the state, of which 2,242 are known for their medicinal properties.