Pune: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on Saturday deleted a post about non-compliance with the environment norms at Mercedes Benz India's Chakan unit , a day after posting it on its official social media handle. In a strongly worded statement on X, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on Friday had said that the noncompliance was "particularly troubling", given the company's "esteemed position in the automobile industry". MPCB said in the post that its chairman Siddhesh Kadam had inspected the company's facility on Friday.
MPCB drew ire on social media following the deletion of the post and many sought to know the purpose of the board chairman's visit to the plant. A response from Kadam to TOI's mail enquiring about his visit to the plant was awaited till going to press. MPCB's Pune officer Babasaheb Kukade told TOI that it was a routine visit by the chairman and that the objective was not to conduct an inspection.
He did not offer further details as to what was the unit's non-compliance and why the related post and the subsequent threads to it were deleted. Mercedes Benz India, in a statement to TOI, said, "We have not received any written notice or formal request from MPCB describing the claimed violations. We are ready to cooperate with the authorities and present all the required processes and documentation, and take any corrective actions, if required.
" It stated, "Mercedes-Benz is in its 30th year of operations in India and the state-of-art manufacturing facility in Chakan is in its 15th year of operations. It is a benchmark in automotive manufacturing in India. The company sets high priority to adhere to the most stringent global standards in production quality, uphold high environment and sustainability practices, and comply with mandatory regulations and requirements.
" MPCB in its earlier post had said, "We are committed to upholding high environmental standards and ensuring that all industrial activities within our jurisdiction adhere to pollution control regulations." It also said that Kadam had instructed MPCB's regional officer to take immediate action to ensure that the assembly plant complied with all guidelines. The post had said MPCB had planned a comprehensive review of the plant's operations and the implementation of necessary corrective measures.
It (MPCB) expects cooperation from the company, the post had said..
