The Association for the Struggle for Fishworkers’ Rights calls out their Ombudsman for an assessment report that fails to take their social and environmental concerns into account.
The Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS – Association for the Struggle for Fishworkers’ Rights) responded to the Compliance Adviser Ombudsman (CAO)’s assessment report on the Tata Mundra coal plant with a public statement. The statement reads in part, “The report cites CAO’s view that a collaborative process may have been helpful in this case to address many of the concerns. Had we engaged in an open dialogue, CAO reports, the company could have enhanced benefits such as provision of health and schooling services for fishing communities. This is a very myopic view and a simplistic solution to the complex problems the company has brought to us. The report is also profoundly silent about the violations we have raised in the complaint.
“We had pointed out in our complaint the absence of cumulative impact assessment; IFC and its client’s failure to recognize fishing communities as affected population; and the absence of environmental clearance for in-take channel, conveyer belt, port and railway line (all being shared with the adjacent Adani project), and for the open cooling system. CAO purposefully ignored to mention these issues in its report. We do not think CAO fully understands the issues we brought to their attention.
“In the report, CAO has not failed to mention that some fishworkers are satisfied with what the company has compensated them, without remembering that the complaint was from the aggrieved communities and not the other. We believe CAO should have covered in its assessment the other adversely impacted people, like the farmers, shepherds/ cattle herders, whose lands have been usurped for the project and the other externality costs.”
BACKGROUND
In June 2011 MASS filed a complaint with the CAO, the recourse mechanism at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). This complaint holds IFC accountable for co-financing the 4,000 MW coal-based Tata Ultra Mega Power Plant. Due to flawed design and execution, including breaches of mandatory client obligations, the mammoth coal-fired power plant is contributing to the destruction livelihood of thousands of families and will cause irreparable damage to their fragile marine resources and agriculture.
To make things worse, the recent Indonesian government’s revision of its coal export pricing structure effectively doubled prices. This revision has immediate and severe impacts on the Tata Mundra plant. Tata Power Managing Director has said that it could become a “non-performing asset” and began actively lobbying the Indian government for a tariff revision as well as a diplomatic push to get the Indonesian government to revise its pricing structure.
MASS’ original complaint, Office of the Compliance Advisor website, June 14, 2011Ombudsman Assessment Report, regarding community and civil society concerns in relation to IFC’s Tata Ultra Mega Project, January 2012
MASS’ public statement in response to the assessment report