Social activist Anna Hazare has questioned the decision of the State Government to facilitate establishment of a Coca Cola bottling plant at Chharba in Vikasnagar without the consent of the affected people. Addressing the people at Chharba in Dehradun district as part of the second phase of his Jantantra Yatra which began in Uttarakhand with his arrival at Rishikesh on Monday, Hazare said that he would support the right of the people to reject the bottling plant and would raise this issue at the national level.
Hazare was slated to reach Chharba at 11 am, but crowds in Rishikesh delayed his departure to the village where he reached in the afternoon. The social activist was received by enthusiastic villagers and people from different parts of Vikasnagar. Addressing a public gathering there, Hazare expressed concern at the State Government's approval of the Coca-Cola bottling plant without the consent of Chharba residents. He said that this was a sign of the Government trying to weaken Gram Sabhas by ignoring them which was not in accordance with the tenets of democracy. Hazare said that he would raise this issue at the national level and assured the residents of Chharba that he would support their struggle against the establishment of the bottling plant. The villagers told him that they feared that the already meagre water resources would be diverted to the bottling plant and the proposed axing of the jungle for the plant would leave them with no source of fodder for their cattle.
last month, a memorandum of understanding was signed between State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation of Uttarakhand limited (SIIDCUl) and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage Pvt ltd for setting up a Rs 600-crore bottling plant at Chharba. Spread on 60 acres about 30 kms from Dehradun, the bottling plant is expected to start operating in 18 months. The company would be provided water from the Yamuna river barrage. The government claims that 1,000 people are likely to be employed in this plant, but the villagers have been opposing the project since its
announcement. Earlier this month, the Chharba Gram Sabha had passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of the plant and denying Gram Sabha land to the Government, said Suresh Bhai of Nadi Bachao Abhiyan.