PLACHIMADA ANTI COCA COLA STRUGGLE COMMITTEE
Plachimada, Palakkad District, Kerala, India
04 November 2022
From
Vilayodi Venugopal,
Chairperson, Plachimada Anti Coca Cola Struggle Committee
Plachimada, Palakkad District, Kerala, India
To
The Secretary General,
The United Nations Organisation
Headquarters, New York, NY 10017
Sir,
Sub: Request to remove Coca Cola from sponsorship for COP 27
Ref: Report of the High Power Committee constituted by the Government of Kerala to assess
damages caused by the Coca Cola plant at Plachimada, Palakkad district, Kerala, India
We are grateful to the United Nations for its major role in addressing the climate crisis since the
formation of the IPCC in 1987. On numerous occasions, you have personally come forward with
strong appeals to world rulers and people to initiate serious actions to tackle the climate crisis.
Despite the big role played by the UN in addressing this biggest existential crisis for humanity, we
are very sad to note that intervention by international corporate bodies at the annual Conference of
Parties is jeopardizing the success of the COPs. Being the victims of a plant of Coca Cola in a
remote village of Kerala in India, we are particularly disturbed and agitated to learn that Coca Cola
is the official sponsor of the COP 27. We request you to remove Coca Cola from the sponsorship of
the critical COP 27.
The social and environmental impacts, inflicted by the operation of the Coca Cola plant at
Plachimada is narrated briefly below for your kind perusal. Plachimada, a remote village in
Palakkad district of central Kerala is situated in the Palakkad gap of the Western Ghats mountain
ranges. Hence, the place receives substantially less rainfall compared to other places in the state.
The state has very low ground water potential and the available resource is over exploited in the
Palakkad gap region due to semi-arid conditions. The Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd
(HCBPL) plant at Plachimada started its operation in 1999. In the five years of its operations until
the plant stopped functioning in May 2004, it had badly destroyed the social and environmental
fabric of the region.
The report of the High Power Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) constituted by
the Government of Kerala to assess the damages caused by the HCBPL states that “It is evident that
the damages caused by the Coca Cola factory at Plachimada have created a host of social,
economic, health and ecological problems, cutting across different sectors.” The Committee had
looked into the impacts on water, agriculture , environment and health of the public. It had
conducted several studies including those of the Central Ground Water Board, Supreme Court
Monitoring Committee, Legislature Committees, State Ground Water Board, State Pollution
Control Board and the Department of Health. It had also looked into study reports by reputed
agencies from outside the government including that of University of Exeter (UK).
Some excerpts from the Committee report on presence of heavy metals are reproduced below. They
are self-revelatory. “The presence of toxic metals cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in the sludge
generated by the plant was noticed for the first time in an analysis of the sludge by the University of
Exeter (UK) on behalf of BBC in July 2003 when a sample of sludge dumped on a farm near the
Cola factory was found to have 100 mg/kg cadmium and 1100 mg/kg lead…….. The well water
collected near to the farm where the sludge sample was collected also showed unacceptable level of
lead. The sample had 65 micrograms/litre (0.065 mg/l) of lead, which is well beyond the
permissible maximum of 0.05 mg/l set by the Bureau of Indian Standards for drinking water and
way beyond the WHO guidelines of 0.01 mg/l.” “A study conducted by the Kerala Agricultural
University at Plachimada during 2004- 06 on the level and impact of heavy metal pollution in the
village found consistently and significantly higher levels of cadmium and lead in the well waters
and in the samples of soil, fodder, milk, meat and egg collected from the area.”
“An extensive study of the presence of heavy metals in the ground water was conducted by the
New Delhi based Hazards Centre and Dehra Dun’s Peoples Science Institute in November2005, the
results of which were published9 in June 2006. The analysis done at PSI’s lab has found the toxic
metals cadmium, lead and chromium at levels far higher than the permissible levels in nearly all of
the 9 well water samples it had collected from Plachimada.”
The report quotes various studies to establish reduction in drinking water availability. It also points
to reduction in crop productivity and heavy metal presence in livestock. On health impacts, the
Committee report says, “A systematic study of the health issues arising from pollution at
Plachimada was done for the first time in November 2003 by a medical team led by Dr. M. N.
Anuvarudheen, Dr. K. Muralidharan and Dr. T. P. Jayaraman. The team has found the prevalence
of symptoms like hair loss, burning of eyes, cough, vomiting, pain in abdomen etc. which the team
has attributed to the pollution caused by HCBPL.” HCBPL had scant respect for the law of the land
and it was repeatedly ignoring various directions from concerned authorities. The Committee report
says, “The KSPCB constituted a Local Area Environment Protection Committee (LAEPC)
on 14.9.2004 that included two representatives of the HCBPL, following the direction of the
SCMC, to ensure, among other things, that the Company provides uninterrupted piped supply of
safe drinking water to the affected people and directed the Company to take immediate measures to
provide this (Annexures VI). The Company blatantly refused to comply with this direction which
was originally issued by the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee. They wrote to the SCMC on
20.11.2004 arguing unconvincingly and rather naively that they have not caused pollution. ……The
Company not only refused to comply but also refused to divulge to KSPCB the source of cadmium
in the sludge (667% above permissible limit) on the ground that the information they had submitted
did not contain any material likely to have cadmium content and the Company has claimed that its
intake water was free from cadmium.”
We can quote a lot more from the Committee report and from several other reports, but refrain from
doing so in order not to burden you with too much material. We are willing to present our case in
details, if required. Based on the assessment of impacts on water, soil, agriculture, environment and
health, “The Committee has come to the conclusion that the Company is responsible for these
damages and it is obligatory that they pay the compensation to the affected people for the
agricultural losses, health problems, loss of wages, loss of educational opportunities, and the
pollution caused to the water resources.” The Committee arrived at a very conservative figure of Rs.
216.26 crores (26.14 million USD at current rate) as compensation to be paid by HCBPL.
Unfortunately, the company has refused to pay even this meagre amount. We request you to remove
Coca Cola from the sponsorship of COP 27 as they are gross violators of all environmental norms
and to restore the integrity of the decisive environmental conference. We also request you to kindly
use your good offices to impress upon Coca Cola of their duty to compensate for the damages
caused, as per the reference report along with interest at prevailing rates. The report of the High
Power Committee is attached for your ready reference.
We take this opportunity to extend our whole hearted support to your efforts to address the climate
crisis and to ensure survival of the human race beyond this century. We thank you in advance for
looking into the matter raised.
We anticipate just and reasonable action from you,
Thanking you once again,
Vilayodi Venugopal,
Chairperson, Plachimada Anti Coca Cola Struggle Committee
Plachimada, Kerala, India.
K Sakthivel
General Convenor, Plachimada Anti Coca Cola Struggle Committee
Plachimada, Kerala, India.
FOR FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS:
Plachimada Anti Coke Struggle Committee
Plachimadasamarasamithi@gmail.com
9446496332, 9871368252, 9809477058.
