Mercedes Gets Maharashtra Pollution Control Body Notice After Suprise Check

New Delhi: Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has received a notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, accusing it of violating environmental rules. The notice was issued after the pollution control body chairman Siddesh Kadam and other officials visited the Mercedes facility at Chakan near Pune last month for a surprise inspection. The carmaker has been asked to respond to the notice within 15 days.

“Sub-divisional officers of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had inspected Mercedes Benz’s Chakan plant. Several pollution rules were found to be violated in it. Therefore, the company has been issued a notice and asked to respond within 15 days,” Jagannath Salunkhe, regional officer of the state pollution control board, has said.

NDTV has accessed the notice, which was issued on Friday.

“The company is not following pollution control rules. Clarifiers and centrifuge units in the sewage treatment plant are not working. It has also not complied with the request for (the) installation of emission control devices for diesel engines. The sewage treatment plant is not properly operated and maintained,” the notices states.

In response, Mercedes Benz India has confirmed that they have received a notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. “The issues in this notice will be studied and responded to. Our role is to cooperate with government agencies,” the carmaker has said.

The Chakan facility of Mercedes-Benz was set up in 2009 and is spread over 100 acres.