Amara Raja Batteries Receives Closure Orders From Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board

Amara Raja Batteries has received closure orders on April 30, 2021 from the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB), for the company's plants located in Karkambadi and Nunegundlapalli, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. According to the orders, the plant closure will be effective immediately and the Company is taking all necessary steps to comply with the orders given by APPCB. It is also working on contingency plans to avoid dislocation in supplies of batteries to its customers across product segments including essential service segments like defence, hospitals and telecom.

The company has received closure orders for both plants.

"We shall continue to make our efforts to engage with APPCB authorities in the interest of avoiding a dislocation in supplies to some of our largest clients in sensitive sectors. At a time of a national emergency in the form of the Covid pandemic, such a dislocation could be calamitous. All our manufacturing plants have undergone various annual/bi-annual environmental audits and certifications over many years and have received several awards for safety and environmental sustainability and have adhered to the highest norms of Environment, health, safety. Our choices have always been guided by a commitment to society that are socially and environmentally responsible," a spokesperson from the company said.

Amara Raja is examining all options and preparing for all possible recourse that are available for the organisation, in a bid to ensure that interest of society, customers, suppliers, partners and all employees are taken care of. In its statement, the company also added that it has made representations to the state pollution control board officials on various environmental control measures that are deployed. The measures are in line with industry standards and regulatory requirements and improvement actions are being initiated.