The plant in southern Kerala state has been closed since March 2004 following a temporary ban by the government and subsequent protests by residents who say the facility was also depleting water in the region.

"We will take appropriate action after verifying the responses from the company. We have given them 15 days to respond to our notice," S.D. Jayaprasad, a member secretary of the state's Pollution Control Board told AFP.

The official notice says the company had "sold solid waste from the plant as fertilizer to local farmers and this had caused contamination of soil from heavy metals such as cadmium."

The company's Indian arm, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited, denied the allegations and called the notice "unwarranted and arbitrary".

"The plant was a zero-discharge plant while in operation. The treated waste water was used within the plant premises," said company spokesman Ameer Shahul.

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