[Urbanstudy] PRESS RELEASE: Widespread Environmental and Social Concerns Brushed Aside during Envtl Public Hearing on massive expansion plans of West Coast Paper Mills, Dandeli, Karnataka

[ESG VSNL India]

*Press release : 27 February 2007*

*Widespread Environmental and Social Concerns Brushed Aside  during 
Envtl Public Hearing on massive expansion plans of West Coast Paper 
Mills, Dandeli, Karnataka*

Financiers of Expansion plans include IFC (World Bank) and ICICI Bank

The 20^th February 2007 Environmental Public Hearing for the proposed 
Rs. 1260 crore expansion and modernisation of West Coast Paper Mills 
Limited (WCPM) was marred by chaotic scenes of heckling, intimidation, 
and hooliganism. A team from Environment Support Group, Bangalore 
visited Dandeli and participated in this public hearing. Even as the 
presiding officer Ritesh Kumar Singh (District Commissioner of Uttara 
Kannada District of Karnataka) struggled to restore order to the 
proceedings, a large group of vocal individuals disrupted the 
proceedings and misbehaved whenever anyone attempted to express any sort 
of concerns about WCPM's operations. As a result, the supposedly 
'public' hearing was reduced to a promotion event for WCPM with company 
supporters exclusively waxing eloquent about 'contributions' to Dandeli 
and the surrounding areas.


It is ironic indeed that the public hearing under the Environment Impact 
Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 (as part of the mandatory 
environmental clearance mechanism for pulp and paper manufacturing 
industries) did not permit fair expression of the very significant 
environmental and health impacts that WCPM has been repeatedly accused 
of over the years. It is also shocking that potential social and 
environmental implications of WCPM's proposal to secure 68,000 hectares 
of land (680 sq. km, an area larger than Bangalore) within a 250 km 
radius of Dandeli were not discussed during the Public Hearing or in the 
Rapid EIA Report prepared for the proposed expansion.


WCPM was promoted in the year 1955 and is a part of the Kolkata based 
Shree Kumar Bangur Group of Companies. The company, which is located in 
the Dandeli reserve forests (and less than 10 kilometres from the 
Dandeli Wilife Sanctuary), draws all its water requirements from the 
Kali river. Ever since it commenced operations in 1959, WCPM has been 
discharging effluents from its industrial processes into the Kali river. 
The mill, which had an installed initial capacity of 18,000 Metric 
Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) in 1959 has since increased its capacity almost 
ten-fold to 1,76,221 MTPA in 2005-06. WCPM now proposes to carry out an 
expansion cum modernization program to almost double its overall 
capacity to 320000 TPA.  The expansion is likely to be financed by the 
International Finance Corporation (World Bank group) and ICICI Bank of 
India.


WCPM has a proven record of non-compliance on various grounds: 
production in excess of consented quantities, water use in excess of 
consented limits, effluents discharged in excess of permitted limits, 
effluents discharged that violate environmental standards, and illegal 
use of forest land in contravention of stated purpose. All of the above 
non-compliances are well-documented, either by regulatory agencies like 
the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board or the Central Pollution 
Control Board, or by research institutes and NGOs. Yet, there has been 
no record of redressing these past violations in any manner either by 
the regulatory agencies or the ministries concerned.


As a result of continued pollution of the Kali river, there has been 
sufficient empirical evidence of health impacts (in Dandeli and also in 
downstream areas) on livestock and human beings from a variety of 
sources including commissioned studies. The most egregious case was that 
of an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the region in 2003. There is also 
sufficient recorded empirical evidence of adverse impact on fishes and 
fisheries, as well as on the impact of using the Kali water for 
irrigation on agricultural land. Yet, there has not been any study of 
these impacts and no serious attempts at redressing the damage done thus 
far. Even if WCPM has cleaned up its act and has installed a functional 
Effluent Treatment Plant (as has been claimed), these past damages 
cannot be ignored and have to be redressed. Most notable is the paucity 
of information on social and environmental implications of WCPM's 
proposed use of 68000 hectares (captive plantations to source raw 
materials).If people are going to be displaced, WCPM has to rehabilitate 
them prior to any permitted expansion.


All these matters need be addressed before considering WCPM's 
application for environmental clearance for the expansion of its 
production. Undoubtedly, Dandeli's economy and employment is vitally 
linked to WCPM's operations, but this cannot excuse the company's 
non-fulfilment of legal and social obligations.

A written representation by ESG highlighting these issues was 
subsequently submitted by ESG to the Uttara Kannada District 
Commissioner, and a copy of the representation can be downloaded from 
www.esgindia.org.

Leo Saldanha

*Coordinator*

Environment Support Group ®

105, East End B Main Road, Jayanagar 9^th Block East, Bangalore 560069. 
INDIA
Tel: 91-80-22441977/26531339 Fax: 91-80-26534364
Email: _esg at esgindia.org_ <mailto:esg at esgindia.org> or 
_esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in_ <mailto:esg at bgl.vsnl.net.in> Web: 
_www.esgindia.org_ <http://www.esgindia.org/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup/attachments/20070301/859dbde5/attachment.html