The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s unit at Sathammai village in Chengalpattu district is currently operating within its existing permitted production capacity and has not started its proposed expansion. The information was included in a recent report submitted before the NGT.
The report was filed in connection with an appeal by K.R. Selvaraj Kumar of Meenavar Nala Sangam, who challenged the environmental clearance granted to Sun Pharma for increasing production at the existing facility.
According to the TNPCB report, the unit received consent to establish from the pollution control board in 2005 and began operations under consent to operate in 2006. At that time, the permitted production capacity was 25.5 tonnes per month. Later consent orders allowed changes to sewage generation, trade effluent disposal and air pollution control systems, but the approved production quantity was not increased.
In March 2022, Sun Pharma received environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for a proposed expansion of its active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing capacity. The plan was to increase production from 25.5 tonnes per month to 134.082 tonnes per month within the existing plant.
However, the TNPCB told the Tribunal that the company had not obtained the required consent from the Board specifically for carrying out the proposed expansion. A TNPCB inspection conducted on September 12, 2026, found that the factory was operating at its existing permitted capacity of 25.5 tonnes per month and that no expansion activity had been undertaken.
The dispute is also connected to earlier environmental proceedings involving the same unit. In a previous NGT case, concerns were raised over environmental violations and the impact on groundwater and soil around the facility. The Tribunal had directed an interim compensation of ₹10 crore and confirmed environmental compensation of ₹58.20 lakh in connection with the earlier proceedings.
The NGT later considered the challenge to the 2022 environmental clearance for the proposed expansion. In 2023, the Tribunal sought a report on whether the expansion clearance should continue. Subsequently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change decided to keep the March 31, 2022 environmental clearance in abeyance until the final outcome of the NGT, High Court or Supreme Court proceedings.
The TNPCB report also noted that Sun Pharma had renewed its operating consent, which remains valid until March 31, 2028. However, the Board said that this consent did not amount to specific permission to implement the proposed production expansion.
For now, the Sathammai facility continues to operate within the earlier permitted production limit. The latest inspection finding that no expansion work has been carried out is expected to remain relevant to the NGT proceedings as the Tribunal considers the environmental clearance dispute.
The case highlights the importance of obtaining all required regulatory permissions before increasing industrial production, particularly for pharmaceutical facilities located near environmentally sensitive areas. Earlier NGT proceedings had also recorded the facility’s proximity to the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and nearby water bodies.