Panchayat rejects Coke plea

In a rebuff to Coca Cola's plan to reopen its plant at Plachimada near Palakkad in Kerala, the Perumatty Panchayat has rejected the soft drink company's application to renew its licence on the basis of the Kerala High Court order permitting it to draw groundwater.

A meeting of the panchayat board had on Tuesday turned down the company's request claiming it did not furnish required documents like licence under the Factories Act and clearance from the state Pollution Control Board along with its application, Permatty Panchayat sources said.

The Janata Dal-S controlled local body had cancelled the soft drink unit's licence in April 2003, claiming it had received complaints from local people that drawing of excess groundwater by the company had resulted in drying up of wells in the area.

A division bench of the Kerala High Court had on April 7 permitted the unit to draw up to five lakh litres of groundwater a day from the 34-acre premises of its bottling plant.

Perumatty Panchayat last week filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court order.