Sandesh Prabhudesai
22 July 1999
The controversy over the state government stopping water supply to Coca
Cola plant here is taking interesting shape with industries minister Churchill Alemao
blaming his predecessors led by his own Congress party for allowing the project in haste.
While the discussion on postponed calling attention motion in the House
is just one day ahead, Alemao blasted chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, who was the then
industries minister as well as speaker Pratapsing Rane, the former chief minister, for
allowing the soft drink multinational.
While justifying his action of stopping water supply to the Hindustan
Coca Cola Bottling South West Pvt Ltd, Alemao says he is not against the MNC but they
consuming water at the cost of requirements of the locals surrounding Verna industrial
estate. He substantiates it with letters from four village panchayats complaining about
water.
"I do not want to replicate what the Shiv Sena-BJP government did
to another MNC like Enron, which they vowed to throw it in the Arabian sea and ended up in
allowing it with more tariff per unit", says Alemao. He plans to settle it before
Coke goes into full-fledged production.
Though Alemao claims that Coke is presently doing a trial production,
deputy speaker Alex Sequeira, who was the chairman of Industrial Development Corporation
when Coke was allowed, says the MNC has gone into full production since 3 March. "The
project was permitted by the high power co-ordination committee", he adds.
Alemao however wonders how the HPCC could permit the multi-crore
project within a fortnight while Coke had not even submitted a proper project report as
per the requirement. Both Rane and Faleiro, along with Sequeira, had allowed it as the
members of the HPCC, he alleges.
Though he repeatedly states that he is not against the project,
Alemao’s precondition is to lay a special 45 km-long pipeline from Selaulim
irrigation project and not by supplying water through the IDC pipeline. The PWD supplies
water to the IDC, the corporation controlled by industries department.
As Alemao is getting prepared to face the Assembly on the issue, the opposition members
however suspect ulterior motive behind it. Alemao has however refuted the allegation that
he is furious because the MNC did not agree to sponsor football players of his national
team, the Churchill Brothers
