By Feizal Mansoor
Background:
A large Indian manufacture of beverages has purchased the 50 acres of land adjoining our property and which used to be a part of our property. They are planning to supply fruit drinks to the whole of South India from here. This has enormous ramifications for the continued viability of our coconuts and my efforts over the last ten years to restore the soil with a view to making the land an analog forest and to making extra extra virgin coconut oil using alternate energy in the manufacturing process. This also has serious implications to the paddy farmers who have been growing paddy for centuries on the land the Dabur property backs on to.
Visits:
Yesterday on January 24, 2012 I visited the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka at 9am and met with Mr. Lalith Perera who I was told was the assistant to the Director Environment Mrs. M. A. S. Perera who was on leave. He consulted with a young man called Taraka who brought him the file, and told me that all the necessary approvals for this project had already been obtained, including clearance from the CEA. They said that when they had inspected the property they had a representative of the CEA with them. I lodged our complaint with him and he said he would forward it to Mrs. Perera for action.
I then spoke on the telephone with Mrs. Kanthi De Silva who is Directer Environmental Impact Assessment of the Central Environmental Authority and she asked me to call her at 3pm. I went to her office at 3pm and she saw me as soon as she could. She read the letter of complaint that Jeanne had signed for me and told me that she had not processed this project. She then called the Director Environmental Pollution Control and asked him if it had been handled by his department. She endorsed our letter to the Director EPC and asked me to go and see him. When I went downstairs the Director, who was involved in something asked me to talk directly with the staff officer, Mr. Sanjiva. Mr. Sanjiva informed me that although he had not personally handled the Dabur application as he was abroad at the time, it was common practise for projects that were not large to be merely assessed on their pollutive capacity and the mitigation proposed. This he said was done. When I asked if a $15 million project was not big enough, he said it was to do with the environmental impact not value. In fairness to Mr. Sanjiva he did say that he did not know anything about this particular project but would look up the file and tell me what had been submitted to them.
However after a lengthy search of more half an hour he could not locate the file. It was now 4.40pm and the Director Dr Sanjaya Rathnayake then came in to the room and I handed him the complaint. He read the complaint and both he and Mr. Sanjiva seemed startled at what we had contended in the letter. They assured me that they would look in to the matter and revert.
Everyone I met was kind, concerned and willing to help.
Dabur plan to make 280’000 cases (1 litre x 12 per case) of fruit based beverages a month and are “Building a manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka was an important strategic decision for Dabur as manufacturing presence here gives us a competitive edge that we intend to utilize in full,” Dabur India Ltd chief executive Sunil Duggal said in a statement. So we are talking about a minimum of 280’000 x 12 = 3’360’000 litres of liquid per month.
Here are some links to fill in the impact of the Dabur business plan.
Sri Lanka US$15mn fruit drink plant by India’s Dabur
Dabur’s Lanka unit to cater to south India
Dabur Setups new subsidiary in Sri Lanka
India’s Dabur to enter Lanka, invest $15m in beverage plant
It seems we are in almost a classic case of big business trampling on small-scale farmers and cultivators. Dabur have not had the manners to even introduce themselves and to my knowledge have not consulted anyone in the region before making their plans and purchasing the land. The Divisional Secretariat in Divulapitiya knew only that a fruit drink factory was planned, the Waterboard (NWSDB) had not been advised nor consulted about the water requirement nor were they aware that a factory was even planned. This is also being done on coconut land in the heart of the triangle, thus alienating another 50 acres from cultivation.
What we are facing is a direct grab for Sri Lanka’s water resources and I would really appreciate your help in making this an international cause celebre.
I am fighting the 4th largest beverage manufacturer in India with plants in several countries and who operate in 60 countries.
Kamy Melwani of Neo Synthesis Research has made it plain to me that Dabur have done insufficient research because what we have in our region is a rock based rain fed aquifer, which explains why my bore hole dried up so quickly. The Water Engineer who specified and dug the well told me I would get 50’000 litres per day. In fact I got nothing like this and it dried up within two weeks. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board came and tested the well for me and they too told me it was not viable. I had to abandon it.
Right now while I write this I have to pump water for twenty minutes at a time for domestic consumption as the main well for the house is emptied and the pump develops an air block if I do not let the well recharge.
Dabur had allegedly submitted to the CEA a daily requirement of 30m3 which is 30’000 litres which translates to 900’000 litres per month. Their Chairman in his press statement announcing this project says they will be exporting 280’000 cases of 12 x 1 litre packs which is 3.36 million litres… No EIA has been conducted on the land and Dabur have easily side stepped the intent and purpose of our legislation.
My first step will be in obtaining an injunction to halt construction until all statutory requirements have been met. To this end I meet a lawyer tomorrow who specialises in environmental issues and has been involved in the drafting of the legislation. He is well known to Kamy who also recommends him.
Kamy has managed to interest CSE of India in the issue, for which I am eternally grateful and our daughter Josephine is looking to see what support we can drum up in California.
This is an important issue because as Kamy’s friend at CSE has pointed out is how easily Dabur sidestepped all our protections.
In order that Sri Lanka’s water resources are not arbitrarily bartered to India it is essential that full public consultation, awareness and publicity be given to this.
The writter can be reached at fmansoor@sltnet.lk
Recent Comments