Mumbai, Dec 26 (.) Country’s leading private sector steel makers Tata Steel has informed the stock exchange in a regulatory filing that it faces a collective lawsuit filed by a Dutch NGO against its Netherlands subsidiary, seeking compensation of about $1.6 billion (1.4-billion euros).
The Dutch non-governmental organisation has sought the compensation for alleged environmental and health impact to residents near the company’s steel plant at Velsen-Noord, near IJmuiden, in the Netherlands.
Tata Steel also informed the stock exchange that it is fully prepared to defend the case and believes that the Dutch NGO’s petition faces significant challenges on both admissibility and merits.
While exhibits from the Dutch NGO SFW’s claim statement are yet to be received, Tata Steel said it has already identified strong grounds for defence.
The case has been filed by Stichting Frisse Wind (SFW) before the District Court of North Holland, Haarlem, and targets Tata Steel Nederland B.V. and Tata Steel IJmuiden B.V.
The company stated that IJmuiden residents’ foundation SFW served a collective action writ of summons on December 19, 2025, under the Dutch Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Claims (WAMCA).
SFW has claimed that emissions of hazardous and harmful substances from the Tata plant increased health risks for people living in the surrounding IJmond region and reduced their quality of life due to dust, noise and odour.
The NGO has sought about 1.4 billion euros (around Rs 13,000–Rs 14,000 crore) as compensation on behalf of hundreds of thousands of residents, arguing that average house prices in the region lag behind comparable areas because of the plant’s pollution.
However, Tata Steels Netherlands said SFW’s estimate of 1.4 billion euros was unsupported, calling the claim “unsubstantiated and speculative”, adding that it “rejects their claims being without any basis”.
Tata Steel Netherlands highlighted that health and a clean living environment are key priorities for the company, just as they are for local residents and other stakeholders.
The Tata Steel units also referred to their “Roadmap ” and “Green Steel Plan”, developed with the Dutch government, under which they said they invested in reducing dust, noise and odour, cutting emissions of lead, other metals and PAHs, and moving towards lower‑carbon steel production.
Tata Steel noted in its statement that, “According to SFW, the class action is financed by Redbreast Associates N.V. and Omni Bridgeway S.A, both of which are third-party funders”. SFW has also published a Dutch Claim Code 2019 compliance statement describing how the funders may receive either a multiple of their investment or a percentage of any recovered amount, capped at 25 per cent.
“Under the WAMCA regime, the court will first decide whether the claim is admissible and which foundation, if there are multiple, can act on behalf of the group, before moving to the detailed merits and any discussion of compensation. As the proceedings are initiated under the WAMCA regime, the debate on the quantum of claims is not expected in the forthcoming years,” according to the Tata Steel statement. . BA SAS .