Last month, a government-appointed committee in the State of Kerala published a report recommending that Coca-Cola pay $48 million for damage caused by its bottling plant in the village of Plachimada. The committee, which included heads of Kerala's Agriculture, Groundwater, Health and Pollution Control Departments, said the company unlawfully depleted groundwater, polluted water resources and could face criminal charges on top of a financial penalty.
However, at Coca-Cola's AGM in Atlanta this week, CEO Muhtar Kent said accusations against the company were ‘unfounded and false.' ‘There have been several scientific studies and litigation on the allegations that Coca-Cola depleted water and contaminated the environment but none, I repeat none, concluded that the Coca-Cola company or any of its bottlers were the cause,' said Kent.
He also said the call to pay damages was ‘simply a recommendation from a committee' and that Coca-Cola would ‘rigorously defend any actions that result.'
Forced closure
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola has since said that any government committee or panel reviewing claims 'should first determine through an established process of law whether any damage was caused to the residents of Palakkad, and second, if such damage was caused, who was responsible'.
To read the full report you would need to subscribe to The Ecologist, UK here.
