Thrissur: The Pudussery grama panchayat in Palakkad has decided to check the alleged over-exploitation of underground water by Pepsico for running its factory at Kanjikode in view of the failure of the monsoons and the impending drought. The panchayat council the other day decided to send a notice to the company on the mater after the members raised concerns about the alleged over-use of water. The company has permission to use 2.5 lakh litres per day, but the civic body’s estimate is that it is using nearly 6.5 to 15 lakh litres.
The panchayat officials said that the company has 10 borewells of over six inches in diametre for exploiting ground water. They had earlier asked the ground water department to conduct a joint inspection, but it was not done. Now, the civic body will approach the district administration with the same demand.
It had in 2003 cancelled the licence of the company citing that there had been scarcity of drinking water in the areas near the company. But the High Court stayed the order saying that the panchayat had no jurisdiction to issue or cancel the licence. The company claimed that the panchayat had no power to revoke the licence as it had been granted by the Kerala Industrial Single Widow Clearance Board.
