Activists say 300 trees cut at HUL Kodaikanal factory site

Trees cut prior to soil remediation, says company

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) illegally chopped down more than 300 trees from four acres at its defunct mercury factory in Kodaikanal, and that has exposed the toxic soil at the plant site to erosion by rainwater and wind, according to the Chennai Solidarity Group. The activist group released Google Earth images of the site from March 2018 and January 2020 to show the cutting down of the trees. They said at least 100 kg of soil-bound mercury was likely to have been washed off into the eco-sensitive Pambar Shola section of the Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary. “This clear-felling is a reckless move that will allow Unilever to clean-up its site by poisoning the Wildlife Sanctuary and the Vaigai catchment. The Forest Department and the TNPCB stand exposed as incapable of protecting the sanctuary and environment,” said Nityanand Jayaraman of Chennai Solidarity Group.