plachimada
TRANSCRIPT
“CocaCola”nisation?!
Kiran RadhakrishnanRoll No. 8ISEM – X
PLACHIMADA
Outline
• The Parties Involved• Plachimada – the Region
in worldwide focus• Timeline• Problems• Coca Cola’s Stand• Repercussions• Bibliography
• CSE – The Centre for Science & Environment• Coca Cola Company – 400 brands sold,
> 200 countries - Atlanta, GA - 1892• State Govt. of Kerala• The people of Plachimada
(even India as a whole?!)• KSPCB - Kerala State
Pollution Control Board
Parties Involved
Plachimada
Plachimada• Palakkad District (“rice bowl of Kerala”)
– located 5 km from the TN border, 30 km east of Palakkad town – dry region, rain shadow area
• Most of the villagers – agricultural wage workers, landless Adivasis (SCs and STs)
• 34 acres – ~60 bore wells, 2 ponds
• Power from generators
Plachimada
Timeline• 1999 – licence for setting up the plant granted -2000;
water quality/quantity after 6 months – Ca2+ Mg2+
• Licence expired in 2001 but Coke still continued drawing water aided by a G. O.
• 2002 – blockade near the factory – protests start
• Jananeethi (NGO); Exeter Univ... CSE... Cd, Pb traces – sludge - KSPCB warning
• March 2004 - Coke bottling plant shut down
Timeline• April 2005 – Coke wins battle to draw water
“reasonably” - 5 lakh L a day
• KSPCB – orders stoppage of production – Cd
• 2005 – State Govt. challenge - willing to relocate
• 2006 – Panchayat renews licence with strict guidelines
• State Ban on Coke in 2005-06; revoked
• 2010 – govt. panel assessed overall cost of the damage
Problems
1 L of Coca Cola– requires > 4 L groundwater– generates 2.7 L
wastewater + solid waste
Problems
Problems• Cd & Pb and other traces health problems
• Hard water from draining aquifers
• Company distributed solid waste as fertiliser
• Gross misuse of groundwater; Water dried up in public wells (45-100m), harmful content in wells ~2 km radius; elephants breaking pipelines
• CSE – found pesticide levels 36x EU permitted levels – “one global standard” claim?
• Kerala High Court – neglected rights associated with water and livelihood – problems still unsettled
Coca Cola Stand• FAQ on Kerala on website - No real change in water
levels
• Talks of “multiplier effect” – 6000 Indians employed
• “politicisation” – scapegoat
• Difficult for media & NGOs to access the factory – violations of Environment Protection Act 1986
• Dismissed the 2010 ruling as being based on assumptions
Repercussions
Repercussions
Repercussions• Coke bottling plant at Plachimada shut down (2004)• From local women’s agitation to Worldwide focus –
from Mylamma to Vandana Shiva• anti-Coke campaign; even at UMich and NYU• Distrust – fall in sales• State Ban on Coke in 2005• Independent inquiries into CCC operations ...• Conflicts: State vs. Panchayat – decentralisation?,
Rich vs. Poor, Poor vs. MNC, use of “private” land• ` 216.26 crore – total cost estimated by a panel
Bibliography• The Hindu/Frontline Archives• Corporate social responsibility in India: towards a sane society? -
Aruna Das Gupta and Ananda Das GuptaSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY JOURNAL - VOL. 4 NO. 1/2 2008, pp. 209-216
• Legal Implications of Plachimada – A Case Study: Sujith KoonanInternational Environmental Law Research Centre Working Paper 2007-05
• Coca Cola CEO’s Green Initiative: Money.cnn.com 17.04.2008http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/14/news/companies/coca_cola.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008041708
• The South Asian http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2010/kerala_panel_verdict_coke_must.html
• http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/apr/env-plachmada.htm• Fighting Cocacolanisation in Plachimada: Water, soft drinks and a
tragedy of the commons in an Indian village – Eva Wrammer, Lund University
• Water pollution by industrial effluents in India: Discharge scenarios and case for participatory ecosystem specific local regulation - T. Rajaram, Ashutosh Das Elsevier; Futures 40 (2008) 56–69
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