FILE PHOTO: Different models of Mercedes-Benz cars are parked at the company's vehicle assembly plant in Chakan, in India's Maharashtra state, June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo NEW DELHI - An Indian state said in October that Mercedes-Benz improved wastewater and air pollution management at its only car factory in the country after officials detected environment law lapses in recent inspections, government documents show. Pollution control officials in the western state of Maharashtra signed off on Mercedes' compliance with environment norms in an Oct.
11 visit report, reviewed by Reuters. The clearance is a relief for the German carmaker, India's top luxury car seller, which announced plans in January to launch over a dozen models and invest $24 million in the country this year. In August, state officials made surprise checks at the Mercedes plant in Chakan, Maharashtra, and found the company was discharging untreated effluent and emissions, "causing water and air pollution into the environment," according to a government notice sent to Mercedes on Sept.
19, which Reuters has reviewed. The notice recorded a total of nine non-compliances by the German carmaker, including inadequate maintenance of its sewage treatment plant, the presence of pollution causing compounds near its paint booth and failure to install some required emission control devices. The accusations triggered a political storm in India's richest state as opposition lawmakers said it could damag.