'Pepsi plant in Kerala extracting excess water'

After Coca-Cola, another soft drink major, Pepsi, has come on the radar of the LDF government in Kerala, which has alleged its plant in Palakkad district is extracting excess ground water and discharging effluents and solid wastes with pollutants.

The plant at Pudussery was found to have been depleting the water table in the locality over the years, the state assembly was informed today.

Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran said the ground water level in the area in March-April was below the seasonal average of past years.

Officials concerned had been instructed to ensure effluents discharged by the plant were pollution-free, he said in a written reply to the House.

Premachandran’s statement comes a day after the state government decided to set up a tribunal to realise compensation from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd for polluting environment and causing health problems to the people in the area.

The Coke plant in Plachimada in Palakkad had run into trouble with protests from resistance groups and become virtually dysfunctional for the past four years.

A high-power panel set up by the government had estimated Rs 216.26 crore had to be realised from Coca-Cola for the damage it caused to the environment and the populace in the region.

Rejecting the government charges, Coca-Cola had said the setting up of the experts’ panel was based on “pre-determined and unproven conclusions” the plant had caused loss to people in the area.

Numerous scientific studies and investigations by independent experts and the state government itself had shown that the plant was not the cause of local water-shed issues, the company had claimed.