Yoga guru, FMCG giant and now a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, Ramdev has made clear his “views” on sharing profits with farmers; of course, the judiciary does not agree with him at all. His company Divya Pharmacy, as per a Business Standard report, claimed that ‘Swadeshi’ companies should not share the profits and benefits that they derive from selling India’s bioresources as their “herbal” and “ayurvedic” products with farmers.
The Uttarakhand High Court has rejected the plea after Divya Pharmacy filed a case against orders of the Uttarakhand’s State Biodiversity Board, which had demanded that the company share Rs 20.4 million of its Rs 4.21-billion revenue for 2014-15 with farmers as part of a legal obligation under the Biodiversity Act. The company also argued that as an Indian entity it did not require permission from the government to commercially exploit the country’s bioresources for gains.
The High Court held that under the Biodiversity Act, 2002 Indian companies are as liable to share their revenues as foreign entities when commercially exploiting natural resources that communities conserve. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “Can it be said that the Parliament, on the one hand, recognised this valuable right of the local communities, but will still fail to protect it from an ‘Indian entity’. Could this ever be the purpose of the legislature?”
The single bench added, “Biological resources are definitely the property of a nation where they are geographically located, but these are also the property, in a manner of speaking, of the indigenous and local communities who have conserved it through centuries.” He further said, “Local and the indigenous communities in Uttarakhand, who reside in the high Himalayas and are mainly tribals, are the traditional ‘pickers’ of this biological resource. Through ages, this knowledge is preserved and passed on to the next generation. The knowledge as to when, and in which season to find the herb, its character, the distinct qualities, the smell, the colour, are all part of this traditional knowledge. This knowledge, may not strictly qualify as an intellectual property right of these communities, nevertheless is a ‘property right’.”
Also read: Won’t Support Any Party in 2019, Cannot Say Who Will Be Next PM: Baba Ramdev