COurtesy: India Resource Centre
Varanasi, India: Coca-Cola’s bottling plant has been shut down by state government authorities in Mehdiganj in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) ordered the plant to shut down because it found the company to be violating a number of conditions of its license, or “No Objection Certificate” (NOC).
The Pollution Control Board, in its order dated June 6, 2014 (which we obtained yesterday), noted that Coca-Cola had failed to obtain clearance to extract groundwater from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), a government agency that monitors and regulates ground water use in water-stressed areas.
Coca-Cola Factory in Mehdiganj
Credit: India Resource Center
The groundwater in Mehdiganj has gone from “safe” category in 1999 when Coca-Cola started operations to “critical” in 2009, according to the CGWA. As a result, more ground water use restrictions are in place, including on ground water use by farmers and the community for drinking water.
The closure is a major victory for the community in Mehdiganj which has actively engaged the UPPCB, CGWA and other government agencies to shut down Coca-Cola’s plant. The campaign had also alerted the government to Coca-Cola’s failure to meet a key condition of a temporary license given to it – obtaining the clearance from the CGWA. The campaign, which enjoys widespread local support, had also sent letters from 15 village councils (panchayat) in April 2013 seeking closure of Coca-Cola’s plant.
For background on Mehdiganj and for more information visit www.IndiaResource.org
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