ng water shortages in the area and causing pollution.
"This is a landmark moment for the people of Kerala and India," said R. Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee, which has been active in the campaign since its inception. "The passage of the bill means that people's will in Kerala has now become law of the land."
HCBPL has criticized the bill as being "devoid of facts, scientific data or any input from" the company and called the process "flawed."
The company said it is "reviewing all available options, but remains willing to engage with all stakeholders on this issue."
On its website, HCBPL says, "Allegations that The Coca-Cola Company is exploiting groundwater in India are without any scientific basis and are also not supported either by the Government authorities who regulate our water use in India, academics, or the local communities in which our plants are located."
Community members at Plachimada worry about water scarcity and pollution. (Photo by Kasuga Sho)
"Within approximately five kilometers of the Kerala plant, for example, there are about 200 open shallow wells. Coca-Cola uses only 2 open shallow wells within the plant," says HCBPL. "In the same area there are nearly 150 bore wells. There are only 6 bore wells within our plant and the Coca-Cola plant uses no more than 3 bore wells at any one time."
"In Kerala, where ground water levels have certainly decreased, the rainfall has been well below average for several years," the company says. "The Kerala State Ground Water Department has said that any depletion in ground water was due to poor rainfall and could not be attributed to the plant."
But community leaders argue that Plachimada is situated in the heart of Kerala's water belt and once had large underground water deposits that Coca-Cola has drained.
Plachimada community leaders have vowed to continue the campaign, demanding that the state government also charge Coca-Cola with criminal offenses.
The campaign against Coca-Cola in Plachimada has also enjoyed tremendous international support, with colleges and universities in the US, UK, Canada and Norway taking action against Coca-Cola.
Two other community campaigns - in Kala Dera in Rajasthan and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh - are also seeking closure of their local Coca-Cola bottling plants.
"This is a massive victory for the community of Plachimada and their supporters who have campaigned successfully all the way from the community to the state legislature, and that too against a global multinational corporation," said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaign group.
Srivastava said, "This should serve as a powerful reminder to corporations across India that there are severe repercussions for operating recklessly."
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2011. All rights reserved.