On 1st June, the High Court of Kerala passed a ruling that the Coca Cola plant in India could begin operation without a license from the local Panchayat as well as without approval of the State Pollution Board – a ruling that raises more questions.

In an unprecedented move, a division bench of the High Court of Kerala on June 1, 2005 has directed the Perumatty panchayat (village council) to renew Coca-Cola's license to re-open its bottling plant in Plachimada, Kerala, in southern India. India Resource Center says that the struggle will intensify.

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.

While one might make a personal decision not to consume Coke or Pepsi products, there have to be strong and clear reasons for a group to suggest public boycott of these products.

The Coca Cola Company has been denounced by various communities, organizations and grassroots movements for violating basic human and environmental rights.

Slums.

We city dwellers have quite strong opinions about them.

There has been a spate of allegations against multinationals in the last few months, numerous protests against their practices, in the last few months. Is this the case of overactive NGOs?

On this 20th anniversary of Bhopal, there is another kind of destruction that we must turn our attention to � the extensive pumping out of millions of liters of water from hundreds of sites around the world, primarily by Coca Cola and Pepsi.

On June 25th, the meeting on South Asian Judicial Interaction on Environmental Justice and Equity ended with a key declaration that gives the judiciary of these South Asian nations the responsibility of protecting the biodiversity of this region and providing for environmental justice in the face of increasing environmental exploitation. What are the implications of this declaration?