New Delhi: A chemical factory recently opened in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district has sparked a major controversy. Following NCP leader Rohit Pawar, Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari has now raised serious questions in Parliament.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari stated that the factory uses machinery from an Italian company notorious in Europe for producing chemicals that are hazardous to health. The dangerous chemicals being produced in this factory pose a serious threat to the public.
Health and environmental concerns due to the use of chemicals
MP Pramod Tiwari raised this issue during Zero Hour. He stated that the use of counterfeit and dangerous chemicals, PFAS, has raised health and environmental concerns.
He stated that the machinery and technology were purchased from a company called Miteni, which was shut down in Italy following protests against the company. He said that PFAS chemicals persist in the environment for a long time. Therefore, it is known that they can cause cancer and affect pregnancy.
How does a blacklisted company get permission to operate in India?
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that this chemical plant is located near the Konkan coast and rural areas. He urged the government to seek a report from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on this issue and also investigate how such a chemical project was initially permitted, especially given the lack of regulations regarding PFAS chemicals and their use in the country.
He said that after protests against the company in one country, a company is shut down and then given permission to operate in India. Pramod Tiwari suspected corruption behind this.
Machinery from the controversial Italian company Miteni is being used.
A few days ago, NCP leader Rohit Pawar also spoke out against this company on social media. The plant set up by Laxmi Organic Chemicals in the MIDC area of Ratnagiri used machinery from the controversial Italian company Miteni.
He further stated that the company’s PFAS chemicals had contaminated a water reservoir in Vicenza, Italy, affecting approximately 300,000 people. Following public outrage, the company was forced to shut down, and the same machinery was brought to India and installed here.
Why are PFAS chemicals dangerous?
PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals that persist in the environment for a long time. Experts have linked them to cancer, hormonal imbalances, and other serious diseases. Rohit Pawar questioned how such a dangerous industry was allowed to operate in India when there are no clear laws regulating PFAS.
Laxmi Organics may face a ban after pollution report, says Uday Samant
Maharashtra Industries Minister and Guardian Minister of Ratnagiri, Uday Samant, stated that the government will decide on a ban on Laxmi Organics’ chemical production in Lote MIDC after reviewing the Pollution Control Board’s report. He stated that if these chemicals pose a threat to the environment of the Konkan region, the government will not hesitate to ban them.
The company plans to produce PFAS chemicals using technology from the controversial Italian company Miteni, which is raising local concerns. Commercial production has not yet begun; only trials are underway, and the waste from these trials has been sent to Taloja for disposal.
