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Coca-Cola India unit asked to pay $47 million damages
The Indian unit of Coca-Cola Co has been asked to pay $47 million compensation for causing environmental damage at its bottling plant in Kerala…A state government panel…said Coca-Cola's subsidiary, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCBPL), was responsible for depleting groundwater and dumping toxic waste around its Palakkad plant between 1999 and 2004. Protests by farmers, complaining against pollution, forced HCBPL to close down the unit in 2005. The company operates 52 bottling plants in India…Coca-Cola said in a statement late on Monday that HCBPL was not responsible for causing pollution in Palakkad.