Cases / Pesticides and agrochemicals · India · 2011–2026
Kerala endosulfan compensation delayed as producer's Shroff family sells stake
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Endosulfan, a banned pesticide, was produced in India by a company linked to the Shroff family, and Kerala's victims were still owed compensation five years after a court order. In 2016 the family sold a 24.75% stake for about 343 crore rupees to Sumitomo.
What?
Endosulfan victims in Kerala were owed compensation that the producer did not pay; the producer's owners sold stakes and the state was the payer. Down To Earth
Where?
Kerala, India
When?
2011 to 2026
Who?
Gained
- Shroff family — Sold a 24.75% stake to Sumitomo in 2016 for about 343 crore rupees
- UPL — Took over Corteva's mancozeb business, one of the banned products that changed hands
Lost
- Kerala state budget — Paid compensation to victims, according to the sources reviewed
Harmed
- Endosulfan victims in Kerala — Compensation still unpaid five years after the court order Down To Earth
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Ownership of banned products passed to other companies through stake sales and transfers, while the state paid victims.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Excel Crop Care made about 60% of endosulfan production, according to the sources reviewed, and India objected when endosulfan was proposed for listing under the Stockholm Convention.
In 2016 the Shroff family sold a 24.75% stake to Sumitomo for about 343 crore rupees; Excel's endosulfan share also passed to Sumitomo.
Down To Earth reported that compensation for Kerala's endosulfan victims was still unpaid five years after the court order.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: aerial endosulfan spraying in Kasaragod, Kerala, from 1976–78 to 2000–01, and 6,727 identified victims.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 2017 Supreme Court compensation order, and approval of payment for 977 people in February 2026.
- None on record No personal penalty for the producer or the Shroff family is recorded in the sources reviewed.
- None on record No record was found of an insurance contribution or a tax deduction for any penalty.
- Unclear Whether India's Stockholm objection changed the listing is not stated in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Tracking decades-long endosulfan tragedy in KeralaDown To Earth · 2011–2022
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Kasaragod endosulfan victims still awaiting compensation after court order India · date not stated
- Excel Crop Care (Company) — here: Endosulfan producer, about 60% of production according to the sources reviewed; there: Endosulfan producer
- Sumitomo (Company) — here: Buyer of the Shroff family's stake and of Excel's endosulfan share; there: Bought a 24.75% stake in the producer in 2016
- Chlorpyrifos: exports of an EU-banned pesticide Belgium · 2022–2025
- UPL (Company) — here: Indian agrochemical company; took over Corteva's mancozeb business; there: Exporter via its Belgian company
- IFFCO sells nano urea under a fertiliser subsidy; a Punjab trial reported lower yields India · 2021–2026
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: fertiliser subsidy payer
- India approved clearing over 8,500 hectares of forest despite a Supreme Court order India · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Gave the nod to clear over 8,500 hectares
- India PMFBY crop insurance India · 2016
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Pays the premium share not paid by farmers; presented the scheme's figures
- India's 1975–77 Emergency sterilisation drive drew a $66 million World Bank loan India · 1975–1977
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Ran the sterilisation campaign
- India's scrap tyre imports reach 1.398 million tonnes in FY2024 India · 2021–2024
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Source of the import data cited in the report
- India's top court refuses more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide successors India · 1989–2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: filed the curative petition; paid for the waste incineration
- Indian government paid Rs 126 crore to incinerate Union Carbide Bhopal waste India · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Paid for the incineration from the state budget
- Indus Waters Treaty suspension India / Pakistan · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Suspended the treaty
- Stockholm Convention agrees chlorpyrifos phase-out with 22 uses exempted United States · 2021–2025
- UPL (Company) — here: Indian agrochemical company; took over Corteva's mancozeb business; there: exporter of EU-banned products
- Supreme Court dismisses Centre's bid for more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide India · 1989–2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation
- World Bank-backed dams displaced people, and reviews found incomes often not restored Global · 1985–2018
- Government of India (Government) — here: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention; there: Host government for the Sardar Sarovar dam