The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas has allowed India’s largest syringes & needles manufacturing company, Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) to restart production.

HMD, who is providing the much needed syringes to the Nation and the world for Covid-19 vaccination programme, was asked to shut down its factories ‘voluntarily’ as part of a pollution-control drive undertaken by authorities in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, 10th Dec, 2021.

Mr. Nath had immediately informed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Commission for Air Quality Management, NCR & AA and other administrative ministries that HMD is manufacturing Covid-19 critical medical devices i.e. syringes for Covid 19 vaccination and are running their operations with PNG of 4.3 mega watt since 2011. Mr. Nath requested the Member Secretary of CAQM to withdraw the order or make an exception looking at the critical nature of running their operation for the covid-19 vaccination in India as well as globally to avoid any big National healthcare crisis as over 2/3 of India depends up on HMD’s Syringes for general healthcare. Other countries are also counting on India to support global immunization / vaccination projects mainly for children.

In a letter to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the CAQM said HMD units are allowed to resume their operations based on certain undertakings.

“Today (Monday) we start full operations on getting the formal letter,” said HMD Managing Director Rajiv Nath

“We are thankful to CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) & HSPCB ( Haryana State Pollution Control Board ) for the partial reprieve for allowing us to run our plants and continue to serve the public with much needed DispoVan disposable syringes and Kojak AD syringes. We appreciate the quick decision and the rationalised approach.

“We have to exercise restraint now till hopefully another order as a full reprieve comes to allow use of diesel gensets set, as permissible for hospitals and for formal coverage of Covid Critical Medical Devices including Syringes, for uninterrupted operations in public utilities and essential goods and service under Disaster Management Act,” he said.

HMD alone contributes to over 66% of syringe supplies in India for curative healthcare and immunisation.HMD daily produces 1.5 crore needles and 80 lakh syringes in the Plant that was closed.

Mr. Nath also hoped HMD would be allowed to use diesel gensets in very rare circumstances that would ensure optimal plant capacity utilization so that there are no shortages.

Mr. Nath pointed out as cost of change overs and machine restarts in a highly automated process leads to not only higher wastages, rejections and downtimes that reduces capacity utilization of much needed Syringes but with that comes a higher risk of patient safety of some manufacturing defects that should usually be rejected going to the market.

“No one will want to run their plants on expensive diesel gensets even if they meet the emission norms with appropriate chimney heights,” Mr. Nath said.

According to him, the per unit cost of power from diesel gensets is Rs.24 while that of the grid power is Rs.9 and PNG is Rs.13.90.

Mr. Rajiv Nath also hoped that the Haryana government improves its operational efficiency and cost effectiveness of delivery of power as is being done in Maharashtra, Gujarat and even Madhya Pradesh.

“Like power is made available to farmers on priority during sowing season so should regular uninterrupted high quality power be made available to Delhi NCR region from October to February when air quality falls so that the heavily industrialised zone need not run on backup captive power generation,” added Mr. Nath.