The State Assembly passes a Bill to set up a tribunal to recover compensation from Coca-Cola's bottling unit in Plachimada. THE road ahead seems to be a difficult one for the Bill passed recently by the Kerala Assembly for the establishment of a special tribunal to “make the polluter pay” and recover compensation for the people affected by the activities of Coca-Cola's controversial bottling unit at Plachimada in Palakkad district....

The Kerala Assembly has passed a landmark law that makes Coca-Cola liable for damages of up to Rs 216 crore for alleged pollution and exploitation of groundwater at its bottling plant in northern Palakkad district. A committee appointed by the state government has quantified the loss caused by the plant to the local community at Rs 216 crore since the soft drinks maker set up the unit in arid Plachimada. The previous...

The southern Indian state of Kerala has passed a new law that will allow people to seek compensation from the soft-drink giant Coca-Cola. The company is mired in controversy over its bottling operation in Palakkad district, which campaigners say has caused environmental damage. They say it has also led to a severe water shortage in the area. Coca-Cola's Indian subsidiary - Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) - has rejected the charges. In a statement, it...

Twice every year, between 1981 and 2000, a helicopter would whirr around the hills of the Western Ghats in Kasargod, a district in north Kerala bordering Karnataka, spraying endosulfan over the cashew plantations on the upper reaches. Children would rush out to take a look at the helicopter and the white spray would settle like mist on their heads and on leaves and shimmer in the sunlight. But that’s also...

Biometric cards for free medical care VS puts the blame on unscientific spraying Says Centre should give matching relief Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Friday inaugurated the disbursal of enhanced pension and biometric cards to persons afflicted with serious ailments and permanent disabilities suspected to be caused by the aerial spraying of Endosulfan on the cashew estates of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala (PCK) in the district. The biometric card will make them...