Centre for Science and Environment Session 5 Free raw material? Briefing workshop August 4-5, 2004

Centre for Science and Environment The products and economics Soft drinks: 89% water 10% sugar 1% concentrate. Bottle water: 100% water. No payment for water, used as a raw material. Taken from the ground and bottled and sold.

Centre for Science and Environment How much water is used.. Nobody knows…. Every I litre manufactured, 4 litres used. But what is the total quantum. JPC asks: Companies reply: give us time to collect data. Parliament asks: Ministry of Water Resources supplies supplies incomplete data. Out of 90 bottling plants, data for 20 given. That too wrong in cases (see page 35/36).

Centre for Science and Environment How can they use groundwater? Very simple. The law says groundwater belongs to the person who owns the land. But as the amount of groundwater that can be exploited does not depend on the amount of land owned, there are no limits to the amount that can be extracted. Exploitation depends on the money available to drill deep, electricity, big pumps….

Centre for Science and Environment Kerala High Court reinterprets… Justice K Balakrishnan Nair judged that underground water belongs to the public, with the state as trustee, its duty being to prevent overuse. “The inaction of the state in this regard will be tantamount to infringement of the right to life of the people guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” he ruled. Therefore, if the panchayat and the state are duty-bound to protect against excessive exploitation, it would also mean that the landowner does not have unfettered rights to the water beneath the land.

Centre for Science and Environment Principle of allocation? If company does not have unfettered rights of usage. Principle of allocation to be evolved. How? In the case of Coke plant in Plachimada, High Court asked Centre for Water Resources Development and Management Centre to work out and give report. Centre forms committee (with coke rep)

Centre for Science and Environment Interim report.. May 2004: report submitted to court. Says, annual groundwater resources of taluk: 66.7 million cubic metres. “Under normal rainfall enough water for coke at 5 lakh litres per day. We critiqued the report for panchayat. Science of assessment of groundwater. Dark science. Unknown…fudged science… We recalculate..

Centre for Science and Environment Recalculate.. Find that natural recharge not 66.7 mcm. But natural recharge: 16.6 to 33.2 mcm. How? They take 20% as the total rainfall that can be recharged. But this is black soil (chittur black soil)..granitic area. CGWB says in 1997 assessment natural recharge should be 2-8 per cent. Even if we take 10% only 32.2 mcm.

Centre for Science and Environment Now take demand.. Domestic: Irrigation: Available: or (-): (-) to (-) National water policy says: first drinking..then irrigation…what then happens to coke?

Centre for Science and Environment Coke way Needs 5 to 6.35 lakh litres per day.. Factory land area: 34 acres. Average rainfall: 1,413 mm. Collection potential is mcm. 80% can be collected from paved areas from total factory. Total can be collected: mcm of water per cent of needs. But for this it would have to pave total area. Or..

Centre for Science and Environment Or.. Companies should be required to maintain water balance: Pay for the water they consume – bottle and sell This water, which is bottled and taken away, should be at the minimum recharged through rainwater (rainfall should meet 25%) Rest should be recycled and reused. Close the water cycle.

Centre for Science and Environment Plachimada: panchayat power Plachimada is about the power of panchayats. Authority for water supply vested with it. Revokes license. Local government dept support coke. Coke moved court saying, “panchayat is subordinate to the state government and is expected to follow the guidelines issued by it..” Who will win??? Local democracy or corporate power?