LOTE PARSHURAM — Laxmi Organic Industries began producing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at its plant in Lote Parshuram, south of Mumbai, in early 2025, using equipment dismantled from the former Miteni chemical facility in Vicenza, Italy. The Italian plant had been shut down in 2018 following its connection to one of Italy’s worst environmental contamination scandals, which polluted one of Europe’s largest aquifers and affected more than 350,000 people across the provinces of Vicenza, Verona, and Padua.
The reassembled factory in India produces PFAS—often referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment—for use in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics, and other products. Laxmi Organic Industries has denied allegations of pollution and stated in an April press conference that it operates in full compliance with Indian regulations. India currently has no specific environmental regulation banning PFAS manufacturing, a fact confirmed by Environment Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written statement.
Public opposition emerged quickly. The first protest occurred on 8 January outside the Lote plant gates and was covered by multiple television channels. By April, thousands had gathered again in Lote, with demonstrations uniting environmental activists, local residents, and political representatives. Writer, film-maker and activist Varrun Sukhraj said, “For years we were told this was the price of development. But no community should be forced to choose between jobs and health. What has been rejected in Europe cannot simply be moved elsewhere and repackaged as progress.”
The issue reached India’s parliament on 2 February. In the Rajya Sabha, Member of Parliament Pramod Tiwari called for a federal investigation into the authorization process for the Lote plant and emphasized the absence of PFAS regulations in India. “This pollution-related controversy has exposed major concerns over the transfer from Europe to India of industrial equipment linked to pollution, and over the lack of PFAS regulations in the country,” Tiwari said.
Former Miteni executives were convicted in June 2025 in a first-instance ruling over contamination linked to the Italian plant. A former Miteni employee was found to have one of the highest concentrations of PFAS ever recorded in human blood. Scientific studies associate high PFAS levels with increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, and reproductive disorders.