--- On Sat, 7/3/09, Ravinder Singh wrote: > From: Ravinder Singh > Date: Saturday, 7 March, 2009, 2:46 PM > Kerala NGOs Disown Shashi Tharoor on Coca Cola > Issue > > Dear > Mr. S. Faizi, > > There > is no water shortage in Gods Own Country blessed with > highest rainfall in the world spread over 120 to 140 days > and water flows in rivers is 72,673 MCM in a year when water > drawn by Coca Cola was just 0.182 MCM. Primary source of > water in Kerala is river flows only few states like Punjab > depend primarily on ground water for irrigation and other > needs. > > I am > disappointed to learn that “Struggle to make sure Kerala > remains industrially backwards led by you as an expert is > gaining momentum and you are even prepared to disown > Kerala’s pride Shashi Tharoor.” > > [Kerala is a small > state, tucked away between the Western Ghats and the Arabian > Sea, in the southwestern corner of India . The land is known > for its picturesque landscapes and highly educated people. > With a very high quality of life index and literacy, the > State is one of the most densely populated in India . > Geographically, Kerala is unique and its climate is often > described as pseudo-tropic. The State is endowed with > liberal rainfall and all round lush vegetation. Some of the > last remnants of the tropical rain forests of India are > situated here. It is the privilege of Kerala to usher in the > southwest monsoon to the > country. The tall, well-wooded hills of Western Ghats > precipitate a bountiful rainfall that flows down to the > Arabian sea through 41 small, west-flowing drainages. These > rivers, the longest being Bharatapuzha, 267 km, carry an > annual discharge of 72 673 million m3 (MCM) per year, which > is much higher than the quantum of water being carried by > large rivers like Cauvery, Krishna and Tapti.] > > > Let me add only > Ganga , Bramhputra & Godavri rivers carry more water > than rivers in Kerala. No state on earth has 2000 MCM of > water available per 1000 square kilometer surface area. This > is 2 million cubic meters per square kilometer, Coca Cola > factory is built on 15 hectares which is 0.15 sq.km thus > contributed 0.3 MCM of river flows before it was built > against water extraction of 0..18 MCM. Another way of > calculation is 1,50,000 sq.mt factory receiving 2 meters of > rain fall would get 0.3 MCM annual precipitation much less > than extraction. > > I > admire your skills in running down people who do not > subscribe to your opinion and make a fool of the High Court > & Supreme Court by not disclosing huge surplus water > resources in dams and rivers of Palakkad District and > Chittur Taluka, less than 0.01% of it was required by Coca > Cola. Quantum of rainfall in Palakkad District is 8,000 MCM > against 0.182 MCM water needs of Coca Cola. But in the > report as an Expert you could find only 0.25 MCM surplus > water in Chittur Taluk. “The requirement of Coca-Cola is > 0.1825 MCM, or 73 per cent of the remaining 0.25 MCM of > groundwater.” > > Bharathapuzha is > extensively dammed for irrigation purposes in Palakkad > district, resulting in nine impoundments (11351 ha). > River > Bharathapuzha is bestowed with a rich web of tributaries and > sub-tributaries. The river basin receives an average annual > rainfall of 2,300 mm and the annual average stream flow is > estimated to be 5,082.9 million cubic metres. > > When > dubious people like you are appointed “Experts” there is > gross mis-management, people die of starvation, poverty > & malnutrition. I found very low paddy crop yield in > Kerala and can’t imagine why three paddy crops are raised > in Kerala like TN and then complain of water shortage. > > > You > have not honored Kerala High Court judgment that let Coca > Cola resume its operations. > > People > in Kerala and more importantly NGOs around the world would > be shocked when they learn biggest dam and six out of ten > irrigation projects in Kerala are located in Palakkad > district where Coca Cola plant is located but you have > manipulated it as a dry a barren district. > > Just > one Chitturpuzha Dam get 7.25 tmc of water annually > serving Chittur Taluk which is more than 200 million cubic > meter against 0.18 MCM water requirement of Coca Cola. > Malampuzha has 226 million cubic metre of live > storage capacity which means it regulates between 500 MCM to > 1000 MCM of river flows. > > But most amazingly > Kerala cultivates rice mainly in dry Summer or Rabi season. > Last year 143,000 hectare was brought under paddy in Kerala > in Rabi season against target of 224,000 hectares but in > Kharif season coinciding with monsoon respective figures > were 76,000 hectares and 138,000 hectares. Kerala may switch > to Sunflower or Maize cultivation in Rabi season to conserve > water and import rice from other states. > > I think it is your > professional duty to tell facts to the Supreme Court & > High Court and more importantly people of Kerala & NGOs. > > > Ravinder Singh > > March07, > 2009 > > References & > Your Message > > http://agricoop.nic.in/Rabi%202008/rabi08.htm > > > > http://www.thehindu.com/2004/03/15/stories/2004031501870500.htm > > http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/21/stories/2008072153850300.htm > > You have not > disclosed two vital facts to Kerala High Court & Supreme > Court - first TN released much less water than agreement > into Irrigation system in 2003 and 2004 as main cause of > water shortage “No water has been released to the > Chitturpuzha in Palakkad district from the inter-State > Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) since February 10, > resulting in the drying up of paddy in thousands of acres in > Chittur taluk.” Shortfall was 3.25 tmc which is nearly 100 > millon cubic meters serving Coca Cola plant area. Secondly > area under paddy cultivation has declined 38% from 1,82,621 > hectares to 1,13,919 hectares. This means 38% less water > needs for paddy cultivation. > > http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2209/stories/20050506001104000.htm > > “AS per the > final report of the committee, which was headed by the > Director of the Centre for Water Resources, Development and > Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, and had experts from the > State Pollution Control Board, the State Ground Water > Department, the CWRDM and Coca-Cola as members, out of the > annual available groundwater resources of 66.7 million cubic > metres (MCM) in the Chittur block, of which Plachimada forms > a part, 62.5 MCM was needed to meet the requirements of the > domestic and irrigation sectors. The requirement of the > company (at the average rate of five lakh litres a day) was > only 5 per cent of the remaining 4.2 MCM meant for other > purposes in the region. Similarly, the company's > requirement is only 4.97 per cent of the 3.67 MCM estimated > annual groundwater resources of the Plachimada watershed. > The committed groundwater resources required to > meet the domestic and irrigation requirements until 2025 > is 3.42 MCM. The requirement of Coca-Cola is 0.1825 MCM, or > 73 per cent of the remaining 0.25 MCM of > groundwater.” > > > http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jan252007/240.pdf > > http://www.indiaresource.org/documents/PlachimadaReportWaterPollution.pdf > > You > have even cooked up stories of Cadmium, Lead and Chromium > pollutants released by Coca Cola June2006 whereas extensive > analysis of water quality by CGWB for Palghat district > didn’t find any of these pollutants but most other harmful > chemicals and cooked up samples didn’t find anything found > by CGWB. I have also noticed in the cooked up report > proportion of three pollutants is not similar in all the > samples. Since water flows in one direction reported > presence of these three chemicals around the project site in > 10 samples points to fraud. > > > > http://www.cgwb.gov.in/KR/static_gwr_distwise.htm > > Ground > water availability in Palakkad or Palghat district is 750 > MCM but use is just 300 MCM. Can you deny adequate water > available in Palakkad for industrial use? This report was > finalized on 16/11/2001 was > available to you. > > > It > would have been better if you had cared to reply to my > message of March01, 2009. I have included hard evidence > here. > > > No > state builds dams and canals in dry region. Coca Cola plant > is surrounded by dams and canals. > > > Two of > your MISLEADING statements are addressed here. > > > Average > rainfall in Palakkad is around 2 meters annual this over > 4480 sqkm is over 8960 MCM and ground water recharge of 750 > BCM is less than 10% and when rainfall is delivered in 120 > days and there are numnerous dams also in Palakkad district. > Rainfall in Palakkad is 1916 mm. Chottor has 290 sq.km area > therefore rainfall in Chittor is 555 MCM. > > > Kerala High Court > Judgment > http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2209/stories/20050506001104000.htm > > Through its April > 7 order, the Division Bench, comprising Justice M. > Ramachandran and Justice K.P. Balachandran, overturned the > Single Bench's ruling, saying that "a person has > the right to extract water from his property, unless it is > prohibited by a statute. We hold that ordinarily a person > has a right to draw water, in reasonable limits, without > waiting for permission from the panchayat and the > government. This alone could be the rule, and the > restriction, an exception". > > > Dams > in Palakkad & Kerala > http://www.pkd.kerala.gov.in/develop.htm > > http://www.malampuzha.com/pages/8waterresources.htm > > “Palakkad district > is blessed with irrigation facilities. Dams have been > constructed across almost all the important tributaries of > the Bharathapuzha to provide irrigation facilities to the > district. Six out of the ten completed irrigation projects > of Kerala are in Palakkad district.” > > > http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/05/stories/2006080503390500.htm > > “PALAKKAD: The > biggest irrigation dam in the State, Malampuzha, has touched > record water storage this monsoon -- The maximum water level > of the dam is 115.06 metres and the maximum storage is 226 > million cubic metre (7.981 tmc). The dam has 6.281 tmc water > now as against 6.096 tmc last year, he said.” > > Floods in Palakkad > > http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/endseasonreport.pdf > http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/05/stories/2007080551200300.htm > http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/23/stories/2007072353840300.htm > http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/06/stories/2006060607700300.htm > The Collector > submitted a report of the damage caused by flood and other > natural calamity. The report said that 10 people, including > four children, died in the heavy rain, flood and landslips. > The total loss estimated in the district is to the tune of > Rs.93 crore. In the calamity, 4,448 hectares of agricultural > land was destroyed affecting 13,943 farmers. The loss in the > agriculture sector is estimated to be Rs.18.14 crore. > > > Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor & His Reply > > > Dear Mr. Shashi > Tharoor, > I am glad you have > cared to reply to Vishwanathan’s letter. We seldom get a > reply to our complaints to political leaders, even president > and PM ignore complaints. > > 11,000 children > were reported missing in last 12 months from national > capital. Parents of missing children have repeated petitions > but Delhi Police refuses to even write an FIR. Our mediocre > leaders don’t have skills to deal even most basic > complaints firstly don’t command necessary authority and > secondly can’t implement any project or program > economically and without corruption. > > Trivial issues are > made interstate disputes and small incidents made in to > international conflict. Not just that they take pride in > their stupidity. > > In eight months > ending Nov2008 NRIs remitted $39b, contribution of NRI from > Kerala could be $10b but in the absence of suitable > Industrial Promotion very little get invested on job > creating industries. Punjab also has similar situation. > > > Tube-well of my 12 > acre farm in Punjab that receive one fourth rains than > Plachimada Coca Cola plant and deliver 25 liters per second > yield or 90,000 liters per hour. Coca Cola plant drawing 6 > LPS water from 35 acre plot can’t be blamed for drying up > entire areas around it. Water requirement of Coca Cola is > 500M3 per day or 0.182million cubic meter per year. Water > resource development in Kerala is 47% as per DGWB2004 > Report. Palaghat District has highest ground water > availability at 0.75BCM out of 6.23BCM for Kerala and 0.396 > BCM is available for future development. Ground water > extraction in Kerala is 2.92 BCM out of 6.84 BCM available. > > > With 120 to 140 > rainy days and 3107mm rainfall over 38893 square kilometer > area means Kerala get 120 BCM of precipitation. So ground > water extraction is just 2.5% of precipitation. > > > Google picture > shows three dams close to Coca Cola Plant and a river also > flows less than a kilometer from site. One of the dams might > be intercepting waters and channeling it for irrigation and > other purposes. Even dams are around same elevation so water > flows in to dams but can not flow to Coca Cola site unless > pumped and nearby river flows 40 feet below. Elevation at > the site is 560 feet this also indicates Coca Cola site is > located at the foothills of Western Ghats . Generally ground > and surface water runs downstream fast around foothills or > in other words have low holding capacity. As an Inventor > & Engineer my guess is that Coca Cola selected a wrong > site and was perhaps misled by property dealers. > > > Allegations like > release of Cadmium and Lead by Coca Cola is absolute > rubbish. It is the complainants who are to provide evidence. > > > “Supreme Court > Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Waste Coca Cola, as the > single most largest extractor of ground water extracting at > the highest rate, largest transporter of water to the > outside through softdrinks, a non-essential luxury good, > contributed the largest to the depletion of ground > water” is the most stupid comment I have read. > > > Average rate of > water extraction (5 lakh liters per day) is 20,000 liters > per hour or 6 liters per second- a quarter of my 5 HP > tube-well in my farm. Coca Cola is converting water in to > soft that is priced Rs.20,000 per kiloliter. Amount of water > required to produce a kilogram of rice worth Rs.20 is 5 > kiloliter in Kerala. This means daily water extraction by > Coca Cola if supplied to Rice farms would produce 100 kg of > rice per day worth Rs.2000 or annual value of Rs.7,30,000. > But rice can’t be grown 365 days in a year normally we get > only one crop so actual production comes to 14,000 kg from > 140 days and farmers may be raising vegetables or other > crops. But retail value of soft drinks is around Rs.6 > million per day or Rs. 200 crores annually. > > Soft Drinks are > essential in India considering poor quality of potable water > supply particularly in serving guests. My family avoids soft > drinks and has water purifier but guests prefer soft drinks > in summer. By the way cost of mineral water in small packing > is more than equivalent content in large soft drink bottles. > A 150ml to 250 ml mineral water pack cost Rs.5 and a 2 liter > in glass bottle cost Rs.40. > > Yes soft drinks > has very high sugar content harmful for diabetic, sugar free > products are also available but its real benefit is in > avoiding spread of water borne diseases. Millions avoid > water borne diseases by consuming soft drinks on travel by > rail and road every day. 20 million travel in trains every > day. It is important to mention here Mineral Water or > bottled water business is booming growing much faster than > soft drinks and Coke & Pepsi & Parle are leading in > this business. > > Water required to > produce 1 kg of rice in Kerala produces about 3,000 liters > of bottled water retailed for Rs. 30,000 when rice is > retailed for Rs. 20. > > Exports of soft > drinks by Coca Cola to other states priced Rs.20 per liter > containing 95% water is good for Kerala may be earning Rs.50 > crores to Rs.100 crores annually but that foolish leaders > have stopped besides loss of jobs. > > I have developed > inventions for water saving technologies and asked Coke > & Pepsi for Collaboration at seminars but didn’t get > any response. > > Ravinder Singh > > March01, > 2009 > > From: S Faizi [mailto: ecol...@dataone.in] > (Environmental Expert Member: Kerala Groundwater > Authority; Chairman: Indian Biodiversity > Forum) > > To: - > Mr. > Shashi Tharoor, Chairman, Afras Ventures, 230 Park Avenue, > Suite 2525 , New York , NY 10169 > > > Dear > Mr Tharoor, > > > I > have read with interest your response to the Plachimada > Struggle Solidarity Committee’s criticism of your being in > a PR project of the Coca Cola company in India , in Hindu > and the full text on a web site that carries your PR > material.. I do not have a grain of opposition to your being > in the cola PR outfit, for it is natural for people like to > you to be in places like that. However, I am writing this > public response to you in order to address the > misinformation contained in your letter, outdoing even the > PR staff of the company, and the unwarranted sweeping > remarks you have made on Kerala development. > > > The > High Court Division Bench verdict in favour of the company > that you have referred to was made subsequent to a single > bench verdict against the company. And the Division Bench > verdict is being challenged in the Supreme Court by the > Perumatti Panchayat and by the people’s groups agitating > against the company. The CWRDM-lead report was flawed in > many respects, as is being argued in the SC, which is also > an issue of concern for CWRDM scientists as the institution > has suffered an erosion of credibility. The very assumption > of the report, in estimating the total groundwater > availability in Chitoor block, that 20 per cent of the > rainfall can be recharged is flawed as the Central > Groundwater Board’s (CGWB) assessment in 2003 had put the > recharge in areas such as Chitoor at 5-8 per cent. While the > committee report put the annual recharge in the > block at 74.1 million cubic meters (mcm), based on the > CGWB’s scientific estimation of recharge rate it is only > between 16.6 to 33.2 mcms. The report also suppresses the > domestic and agricultural water needs. The central question > in the High Court case was not as much about pollution and > depletion of water resources, land pollution by heavy > metals, or the right to life provision of the Constitution, > as about the power of the local panchayat to ask for the > closure of the factory. The Groundwater Dept, in a report on > the groundwater of Palakkad dist prepared in 2006, presented > an alarming picture of the state of groundwater in Chitoor > block. > > > The > legal status of groundwater has rightly become that of a > public resource with the enactment of the Kerala Groundwater > Act which came into force in 2003. However, this law (as > well as several other points from the environmental > jurisprudence) was not considered in the High Court case. > Groundwater was considered as a private resource, while the > said law asserts it as a public resource over which the > appropriate agencies of the State have control in public > interest. And this change in the legal status of groundwater > is also going to be examined by the apex > court. > > You attempt to deny the toxic sludge. > However, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee (SCMC), in > its report following its site visit in August 2004, had > determined the presence of heavy metals (cadmium and lead) > in the sludge, and this was distributed by the cunning > company to the unsuspecting farmers as ‘fertiliser’. And > the State Pollution Control Board had directed the company > to cease operations. The pollution of the well waters around > the factory was reported by independent labs and the SPCB > also confirmed it by asking the people not to use the water > of the panchayat well it had tested. > > > I > visited the area two weeks ago as a member of the expert > committee attached to the State SC/ST Commission and found > the situation of the local people, ST/SC in particular, > extremely worrying- there is hardly any water in the wells > and where it is present it is not usable. Pollution of > drinking water is a crime under the SC/ST (Atrocities) Act. > On 14-9-2004 the company agreed to provide piped water to > the residents of the area and the KPCB had constituted a > committee to oversee this activitiy. This was upon the > instruction of the SCMC, obviously as a compensation for the > water crisis caused by the company and it was not contingent > upon the functioning of the factory. The company reneged on > this agreement too. > > > > Polluter Pays Principle has become an integral part > of our jurisprudence. The Rio Declaration (principle 16) > upholds this as well as the liability and redress provision > of the Biodiversity Convention (I had been a negotiator in > the formulation of both), among other multilateral soft laws > and treaties. And this is squarely applicable in the case of > Coca Cola at Plachimada. This was why the Kerala Goundwater > Authority, after study by a subcommittee, recommended to the > govt at its 13th meeting in Oct 2008 that compensation > should be obtained from the company, on behalf of the > people, for the pollution and groundwater depletion it has > caused. It also recommended to make a comprehensive, > multidisciplinary assessment of the damage caused by the > company to the environment, human health and > agriculture. Bringing an offender to justice is in the > best > common interest of business lest the law abiding > competitors are left at a disadvantage. > > > Your > reference to the Global Compact was interesting. But you > have carefully withheld the information from your readers > that this was a project that was fiercely opposed by the > civil society organizations. It was not a legitimate UN > activity, negotiated and agreed by a policy setting body > such as the GA. It was part of a series of initiatives to > diminish the importance of the need for corporate bodies > complying with the domestic laws of the countries, by > introducing and promoting a voluntary code of conduct. It > was also part of the move to whittle away the powers of > multilateral bodies such as UNCTAD, supported by the > developing countries. As a corporate boss you will be proud > to have promoted the Global Compact, but its real twin role > as a greenwash and as a means to belittle the importance of > legal compliance is obvious to the public. Corporate > responsibility is a crooked term, what the citizens expect > from the corporates is corporate accountability to the laws > of the country. If Coca Cola, for example, is willing to > comply with the laws of the country, pay for the public > resources it has used at the market rate and pay > compensation for the damages it has caused that will more > than suffice, we don’t need the Cola to take any > responsibility for our development. > > > As > for your remarks on Kerala’s development scene, it was > certainly uncalled for. Kerala is one of the most globalised > societies in the world, and we were at the centre of open > global trade until 500 years ago when the Europeans came as > savage invaders displacing the Arab traders. Your > accusations of Kerala as ‘over-politicised’ and this as > a reason for an imaginary discouragement of investment in > the state are amusing right wing cliché that fit very well > with the intellectual immaturity that characterizes your > writings. It is an insult to India ’s unity that you are > ashamed that Keralites work in other parts of the India . It > is diametrically opposed to the spirit of Kerala’s > globalism that you are > ashamed of our people working in the Gulf and other > countries. But you are saying this sitting in an American > city and heading a business firm in Gulf. And you claim to > be a Keralite when your web site proudly announces your > fluency in English and French but does not even mention > Malayalam though our language and its literature has a > longer history than English. But such contradictions are > typical of an intellectual simpleton’s writings. The > Kerala model of development is an unavoidable term in the > international development discourse, not the least the > UN’s, but you are blissfully uninformed even about this. > In child mortality, for example, we fare better than the US > city you live in. Empowerment thru political > conscientisation is at the core of the relatively high > development indices we have achieved. Your understanding of > India , as seen in your writings, is no deeper than a > western tourist’s. > > > > Let > me refer to just a couple of such writings. In one of your > articles you have chauvinistically chided Indian women for > giving up sari for western dress. Even such chauvinistic > opinions I have no problem in tolerating but the fun is when > you see the photo of the author of the silly article dressed > in western suit and neck tie totally alien to traditional > male attire! And in a subsequent article you narrated an > anecdote where your Danish boss in the UN abused the Indian > kurta you wore as a surgeon’s coat and that made you > resolve not to wear the traditional Indian dress any more. > As a committed supporter of the UN cause and as a sometimes > participant in UN events, I take offence in the incident you > narrated and your acceptance of the same. As a multilateral > body the UN respects the multiple cultures, and if someone > derogatively talked about a > country’s traditional dress he should not have been on > the UN staff any longer, if someone had set a norm like that > it should have been brought to the attention of the > concerned decision making body. UN events indeed are also > the occasion you find the most fabulous traditional dress of > women and men from west African nations, the various Arab > traditional dresses from Morocco to Yemen , the elegant > sheravni, sari and churidar from south Asia , and so on. I > myself presided over a youth conference organized by > Unesco/UNEP in Moscow in 1987 (part of Tbilisi +10) wearing > a white cotton kurta/pyjama, and nobody cared about what I > wore (I wouldn’t have allowed it either). And your > sectarian mindset blamed the Punjabis for giving > masculine names for their daughters, forgetting that what > you have done with your own name isn’t anything different. > Sasi is how the masculine name is spelt in Kerala while > Shashi, the way you spell it, is a feminine name in north > India ! > > > Your > reply talks of the anti-Cola activists scoring some > political point. No one can read any party politics in their > letter, the Plachimada anti-Cola struggle is beyond > divisions along party politics. The ruling LDF supports the > Plachimada cause as much as the opposition UDF. And in the > struggle itself you find people of all political > affiliations and creeds. We are all one on the issue of > justice, but you cannot perhaps understand that. But if you > are talking about politics with your ambition to get a seat > in the forthcoming Parliament election in view, I wish the > Congress party gives you a ticket, for it deserves you. That > will be a good self punishment for the Congress party for > having allowed you once to embarrass the country with your > UN election. > > > Best > regards > S.Faizi > > > Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India Messenger at http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/?wm=n/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
