Hindustan Insecticides Limited, Eloor: History and Status

Ashraf Gents Hostel

Key facts

Hindustan Insecticides Limited was incorporated in March 1954 to produce DDT for India’s national malaria programme, according to Wikipedia.
HIL’s manufacturing units are at Udyogamandal near Kochi, Rasayani near Mumbai, and Bathinda in Punjab; its headquarters is in New Delhi.
A fire broke out at HIL’s endosulfan plant at Eloor on 6 July 2004.
In a Lok Sabha reply reported on 17 March 2023, the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers said the government proposed to close HIL’s Bathinda and Udyogamandal units, which had been running at a loss.
The same reply said DDT production at the Kerala plant had been gradually reduced and finally stopped, raising the cost of the agrochemicals still made there.

The Aluva Manappuram Siva temple with its tiled roof on the sandy riverbank. Photo: Vis M / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Made for the malaria campaign

In the early 1950s malaria was one of independent India’s biggest killers, and DDT was the main weapon against the mosquitoes that spread it. Hindustan Insecticides Limited was incorporated in March 1954, according to Wikipedia, specifically to make DDT for the national malaria programme rather than rely on imports. It was owned by the Union government, today under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

One of its plants was built at Udyogamandal, inside the industrial township that had grown around FACT at Eloor. The Eloor site offered river water, rail and road links through Kalamassery, and established chemical neighbours – Travancore-Cochin Chemicals had started production there in 1954. The News Minute’s 2020 timeline places HIL’s arrival at Eloor in 1954; some local histories, including our own Udyogamandal history, give 1957 for the unit’s start. We have not found a primary document that settles the year, so treat it as the mid-1950s.

Over the decades HIL added other pesticides – insecticides, fungicides and herbicides – and today lists units at Udyogamandal, Rasayani in Maharashtra and Bathinda in Punjab. Wikipedia describes it as the world’s largest DDT producer.

Timeline

Date	What happened	Source
March 1954	HIL incorporated to make DDT for the malaria programme	Wikipedia
Mid-1950s (1954 or 1957 in different sources)	Udyogamandal unit set up at Eloor	The News Minute; local histories
April 1990	Toluene in the Kuzhikandam canal catches fire; a Pollution Control Board inquiry finds HIL’s discharge was not properly treated	The News Minute
December 1999	Greenpeace publishes an analysis of pollution from HIL at Eloor	Greenpeace
6 July 2004	Fire at the endosulfan plant at Eloor	The News Minute; Greenpeace
10 May 2011	Business Line reports an HIL plant ordered to shut (cited by Wikipedia)	Wikipedia
4 July 2015	Down to Earth reports HIL resuming work amid pollution charges (cited by Wikipedia)	Wikipedia
7 March 2016	Business Line reports HIL entering the fertiliser business (cited by Wikipedia)	Wikipedia
17 March 2023	Lok Sabha told the government proposes closing the Bathinda and Udyogamandal units	GoodReturns, reporting the reply

Pollution, the endosulfan fire and closure notices

HIL’s Eloor unit sits at the centre of the area’s pollution history. In April 1990, according to The News Minute, toluene discharged into the Kuzhikandam canal caught fire, and a Pollution Control Board inquiry found the company’s effluent had not been properly treated. Greenpeace’s scientists published an analysis of pollution from the plant in December 1999, the start of the studies that made Eloor internationally known.

On 6 July 2004 a fire broke out at the endosulfan plant, sending fumes over nearby homes; a state medical team reported symptoms among residents. The following month the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes visited Eloor. The Pesticide Action Network reported that the Kerala State Pollution Control Board later issued a closure notice to the Eloor plant over its handling of endosulfan waste, and Wikipedia cites a Business Line report of 10 May 2011 headlined ‘Hindustan Insecticides plant ordered to shut’. Endosulfan itself was banned in India by the Supreme Court in 2011.

Down to Earth reported in July 2015 that the company had resumed work amid pollution charges. The whole sequence, with other companies’ roles, is in our Eloor and Periyar pollution timeline.

The end of DDT and the closure proposal

DDT is listed under the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants; India has kept a limited exemption for disease-vector control. At Udyogamandal, the government told the Lok Sabha in a reply reported on 17 March 2023 that DDT production had been gradually reduced and finally stopped. With DDT gone, the costs of shared utilities fell on the remaining agrochemical lines; the site’s distance from raw materials and markets added transport costs; and low capacity use pushed up overheads.

Minister of State Bhagwanth Khuba said both the Bathinda and Udyogamandal units had been loss-making for years, that salaries had reportedly gone unpaid for five months, and that the government proposed to close both, with funds sought for voluntary retirement and settlement of dues. He said the government would not consider redeploying the employees.

A 2025 newspaper column reported that HIL continued to supply DDT for export, without naming the plant. As of October 2026 we could not find an official notice confirming that the Udyogamandal unit has formally closed, so its status should be checked with current news.

Why this history matters near the NAD signal

HIL’s story links Kalamassery’s industrial past to national public-health policy and to the debates about the Periyar that continue today. It also explains some of the warning signs and old compound walls you see on the Eloor road. For the wider belt, read mills and factories around Kalamassery.

Ashraf Gents Hostel, at the NAD Road signal, is a men-only hostel and PG; if you are joining a plant in the Eloor belt, check your commute and confirm the indicative rent (about ₹2,000–3,000 a month) on the call. Other company histories are collected in the Kalamassery history archive.

Frequently asked questions

Why was Hindustan Insecticides set up?

It was incorporated in March 1954 to produce DDT for India’s national malaria programme, according to Wikipedia.

Does HIL still make DDT at Eloor?

No. A Lok Sabha reply reported in March 2023 said DDT production at the Kerala plant had been gradually reduced and finally stopped.

Is the Udyogamandal unit closed?

In March 2023 the government said it proposed to close it. As of October 2026 we could not confirm from an official source that the closure was completed.

What happened at the HIL plant in 2004?

A fire broke out at its endosulfan plant at Eloor on 6 July 2004, releasing fumes over nearby homes.

Where are HIL’s other plants?

At Rasayani near Mumbai and Bathinda in Punjab, according to Wikipedia; the head office is in New Delhi.

Sources

Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.

Cite this guide: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Hindustan Insecticides Limited, Eloor: History and Status.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/hindustan-insecticides-eloor-history/ Plain-text (Markdown) version · quoting with a link back is welcome.