INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
first-of-its-kind order, the Uttarakhand High Court has directed a company run by yoga guru Ramdev to share a percentage of its profits with
local farmers and communities.The high court gave the order while rejecting a petition of Divya Pharmacy against the Uttarakhand
Biodiversity Board (UBB) and upholding the provisions of fair and equitable benefit-sharing as provided under the Biological Diversity Act,
2002.The bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia held that it was a fact that biological resources constitute the main ingredient and raw
materials in the manufacture of ayurvedic and nutraceutical products
It ordered the pharmacy to share Rs 2 crore out of its Rs 421-crore profit with the farmers of the raw product.Earlier, UBB had directed the
pharmacy to share the amount with the farmers and local communities out of its profit as per the Biological Diversity Act
The pharmacy had claimed that the UBB neither had the powers nor jurisdiction to pass such an order and it was not liable to pay or make any
kind of contribution.The court held that India was a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the country was
under an obligation to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.The court said the UBB was within rights to pass the order demanding the
amount, as the biological resources were not only a national property, but also belong to the communities which produce these.
