The High Court of Kerala, in a ruling that surprised many, said that Coca-Cola can extract up to 500,000 (5 lakhs) liters of water per day. The High Court has ruled that the Perumatty panchayat (which denied Coke the license) has 15 days to reconsider the application. This means that Coca-Cola has to apply again to the Perumatty panchayat for a license to operate.

Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center points out that “It is important to note the both the lawyers for the Kerala State Government and the Perumatty panchayat were arguing before the court that the report (which recommended 5 lakh liters per day) was inadequate, and that Coca-Cola should not be allowed to draw even that much water. This is significant because the state government's position was the same the panchayat's position.”

This has been an unfavorable decision for the people in the region around the bottling plant. While the high court continues to pass judgments, people in the region still do not have access to potable water. The people of the region have no choice but to appeal the ruling and continue to resist bottling operations of the Coca Cola plant.

The Perumatty panchayat has made a statement that they will be
appealing the latest High Court ruling to the Supreme Court. This means that it is very possible that the Supreme Court will now have to hear the argument before Coca-Cola is allowed to do anything.

The Coca-Cola Virudh Sangarsh Samiti and the Plachimada Solidarity
Committee have issued a statement that they will intensify the community struggle against Coca-Cola, and they are asking the state government to file an appeal.

In its ruling, the High Court has raised very specific questions about the right of communities on local resources. For one, the ruling by this bench of the Kerala High Court overrules and earlier ruling by a judge of the same court accepting the right of the Panchayat to revoke the license of the company. In addition, it also presents concerns about the recognition of the honorable judges on the impact of water on the lives of communities. It also renews the question of who has the right to make decision on local resources – especially those resources that affect local communities.

While the bench of the High Court has suggested that water is not a treasure trove that can be depleted, it actually misses the mark that water is understood to be the lifeline of communities and a precious resource for future generations. The UN and various international agencies are in agreement that water will be a resource that might lead to wars in future. Depletion of such large amounts of water at a time and place that puts the survival of local communities at risk is surely undemocratic and anti-people.

Local campaigns have already suggested that this ruling might contravene the 73rd Amendment of the Indian Constitution. Irrespective of how this turns out and whether the case goes to the Supreme Court, the effect of sustained activities of the bottling plant continue to affect the people and this ruling by the High Court will certainly impact these local communities.

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