The Hindu : Ban on use of groundwater by Coca-Cola plant

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Ban on use of groundwater by Coca-Cola plant

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 17. The Kerala Government will ban the use of groundwater by the Coca-Cola factory at Pachimada in Palakkad district until June 15.

The Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, told presspersons after a Cabinet meeting here today that the decision was taken in view of the acute drought situation in the district. The Collector would discuss the aspects of running the factory with the management.

The Chief Minister said that when the district was facing a drought, the factory could not be allowed to tap water from there.

The ban was limited to four months as the monsoon was expected to set in by June.

Mr. Antony said no decision had been taken regarding the use of groundwater by the Pepsi cola factory functioning in the district.

He said the drought relief work would be taken up on a war footing in the district. The Centre would be urged to provide more assistance to the State for relief work. Mr. Antony said he had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to take up the issue with him. The State also wanted the Centre to permit it to go in for additional market borrowing this year. He would not be able to meet the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, in this regard as the Union Minister was not in New Delhi now.

(The Chief Minister later left for New Delhi. He will be meeting the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and other leaders there.)

Meanwhile, the General Manager (Corporate Affairs) of Coca-Cola India, Vijay Bhasker Reddy, told The Hindu over phone that the company would decide on its future course of action after it received an official communication on the decision.

Fair value cancelled

The Cabinet also decided to cancel the Government notification fixing fair value of land for registration of property transactions in the State.

The Chief Minister said the decision was taken in view of widespread complaints about the value fixed.

Now, two months would be given for the public to prefer complaints. Till then, the old system of valuation would continue.

The Government, he said, would approach the Supreme Court regarding the stipulation that it should deposit Rs. 500 crores for compensatory afforestation in lieu of the land proposed to be distributed to tribals.

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