India's southern state cancels permission of Coca Cola to set up plant

The government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has canceled a permission given to international beverages giant Coca Cola to set up a plant in the wake of massive protests by local farmers, sources said Tuesday. "Coca Cola was given a 71 acre plot to set up its factory at Perundurai in Erode district by the state government. But the permission has now been scrapped after local farmers and residents protested and raised the issue of depletion of ground water level of the area," the sources said.

However, the state government has said that the permission was canceled due to the company's failure to execute the project even after six months.

Coca Cola was in 2004 ordered to shut down a bottling plant in Kerala for excessive use of water. Endi