NAPM India: Over 100 Organisations Demand World Bank Withdrawal from Tata Mundra Power Project in Gujarat
Over a hundred prominent organisations expressed shock over World Bank President Dr. Jim Kim’s inaction on the audit report on Tata Mundra Power Project in Gujarat, condemned it and demanded International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) withdrawal from the project.
“People’s movements and their allies in India are shocked that you have cleared the IFC Management’s response to the CAO Audit Report on Tata Mundra Project,” the letter sent today to the President said. “The CAO findings warrant nothing less than IFC’s withdrawal from the project” they added.
Condemning it they said, “Your endorsement of IFC’s response to CAO findings and thus letting IFC and the company continue the violations merits nothing less than condemnation.”
The independent recourse mechanism of IFC the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) released their findings on October 24, after a year-long investigation into the financing of IFC to the project. CAO found IFC made serious lapses in funding Tata coal plant.
The letter was issued in support of the local organisation, Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS). It was signed by National Alliance of People’s Movements, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, All India Union of Forest Working People, India Climate Justice, National Fishworkers Forum, All India Forum of Forest Movements and others.
Taking serious note of the inaction of the President the organisations said, “By your decision to keep your eyes closed to the damning findings of CAO, you are complicit in the human rights violations, livelihood loss, impacts of air pollution, water contamination, and perilous marine ecological disaster in the wake of the IFC-funded project.”
Looking at the larger malice of World Bank, the letter said, “(World Bank’s)compliance mechanisms like CAO and Inspection Panel are increasingly becoming a farce, while the Bank continues aiding projects – whether hydro projects or coal projects, infrastructure development, or meddling with our policies and legal system.” World Bank Group has currently 386 active projects in India with a committed portfolio of $29.5 bn.
Concluding the letter, they said “We will continue our struggles against the Bank, its policies and its blatant disrespect of human rights. We will strengthen the struggle of MASS and would challenge you and your Bank at every possible avenue.”
Background:
The 4000 MW Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (Tata Mundra) is finance byInternational Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank, Korean ExIm Bank and other national Banks.
A complaint by the local organisation MASS to the recourse mechanism of IFC
the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) led to a full investigation into the financing of the project. CAO validated major MASS complaints. It found the IFC committed serious supervision failures and significant policy breaches.
CAO confirmed that the environmental and social risks and impacts of the project were not considered and addressed; there is no social baseline data; IFC’s policies for land acquisition not applied, despite physical and economic displacement, Inadequate attention paid to the requirement of biodiversity conservation; IFC failed in its review and supervision of the impacts on airshed and marine environment and IFC failed to examine the cumulative impact of Tata Mundra.
IFC rebutted the findings of CAO.
Resources:
Press Release by MASS dated October 24, 2013
Contacts:
Madhuresh Kumar: +91-9818905316
Soumya Dutta: +91-9213763756
