World Bank and its Accountability: Case of Tata Mundra
December 16, 2013 2-4.30pm
Constitution Club, New Delhi
Dear friends,
Disproportinate to its quantum of lending, World Bank’s influence on India has been unparalleled since it bacame a member of World Bank on December 27, 1945. The influence, most often under the veil of secrecy and obfuscation, spanned not just over the economic polices of the country, but over almost all sectors, law and administration.
This is apart from India being the single largest borrower from the World Bank Group for development projects – dams, thermal projects, infrastructre projects, urban development etc. The Bank also was instrumental in privatising water and power, and opening up agriculture to corporate plunder – something which had a serious impact on a very large section of the population. World Bank Group has currently 386 active projects in India with a committed portfolio of $29.5 bn.
The increasing lending and influence didn’t match with Bank’s reluctant transparency and accountability. Talking tall on these principles, the Bank failed to walk its talk. It took years of hard struggle for the people of Narmada valley to hold the Bank accountable for its lending to the Sardar Sarovar dam. The Bank was forced to withdraw its lending to the dam in 1993.
However, many other struggles have not been very lucky. Be it the people affected by Singrauli thermal power project, or the slum dwellers affected by the Mumbai Urban Transport Project or the fisherfolk and coastal communities affected by the ongoing Integrated Coastal Zone Management or the tribal community affected by the limestone mining by Lafarge in Meghalaya, the Bank continue to turn it blind eye to the serious impacts of these projects on people and environment. In a few cases like the GMR Kamalanga thermal power project, people are availing all possible opportunities to hold the World Bank Group accountable.
After the Morse Report, which scripted the ousting of Bank from Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Project, one significant report on India, authored by Bank’s own compliance mechanism is the recent report by Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) report on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) funded Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (Tata Mundra), released late October 2013.
The communities lodged a complaint with the CAO in 2011, raising serious issues arising out of the Tata Mundra project. After 2 year process, CAO released its findings. The report confirmed all the concerns raised by the communities. Key findings of CAO include:
- Environmental and Social risks and impacts of the project were not considered and addressed.
- There is no social baseline data
- IFC’s policies for land acquisition not applied, despite physical and economic displacement
- Inadequate attention paid to the requirement of biodiversity conservation.
- IFC failed in its review and supervision of the impacts on airshed & marine environment.
- IFC failed to examine the cumulative impact of projects around Tata Mundra
Expectedly IFC rebutted the findings. It went out of the way, and even risking its own credibility, defended its actions and their client. What was shocking was World Bank President Dr. Jim Kim’s complete silence over the findings. While procedurally the President is the one who should take actions on the report, he chose not to take any actions, defending the IFC, making mockery of communities’ concerns and undermining CAO, World Bank’s own accountability mechanism.
This raises some pertinent questions:
- How accountable is the World Bank?
- Is the existence of CAO and Inspection Panel in World Bank a farce?
- Who is made accountable when institutions like CAO find serious non-compliance of policies?
- How is World Bank Group accountable to the people who are affected by its lending?
- Are there oversight mechanisms in India over World Bank and other financing by international financial institutions?
To discuss this, and more, we invite you to a public meeting on December 16, 2013 2-430pm at the Constitution Club, New Delhi.
Speakers from different walks of life – project affected, senior activists, Parliamentarians, Bank and project officials are expected to take part in this.
We will send you more details of this in the coming days.
In solidarity,
National Alliance of People’s Movements | Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangthan
To know more about the struggle against the Tata Mundra Thermal Power Plant read :
a. CAO Audit Report: http://www.bicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CAOAuditReportC-I-R6-Y12-F160.pdf
b. IFC Response to CAO report: http://www.bicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IFCresponsetoCAOAudit-CoastalGujaratPowerLimited.pdf
c. Key findings and observations: http://www.bicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Key-Observations-and-Findings.pdf
d. Press note of MASS: http://www.bicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/MASS-Press-Release-10-24-131.pdf
e. Indian organisations’ letter to World Bank President: http://www.bicusa.org/over-100-organizations-demand-world-bank-withdrawal-from-tata-mundra/
f. International organisations’ letter to World Bank President: http://www.bicusa.org/groups-worldwide-join-indian-people-demanding-kim-pull-ifc-out-of-tata-coal-plant/
g. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wake-Up-Kim/677682028922900
h. MASS letter to World Bank President Dr. Kim: http://www.bicusa.org/local-gujarati-group-sends-letter-to-dr-kim-urging-withdrawal-from-tata-mundra/
i. MASS Blog: http://masskutch.blogspot.in/
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