Engelhard Highland - Coloring US Dollar Bills
Current Situation
Eventually construction of the dye and pigment factory was complete, machinery and effluent treatment equipment installed, without any required clearances. Realising that their demands of the company and the State were receiving no responses, the villagers of the area decided to take upon themselves the implementation of the provisions of Section 33A of the Water Act,1974. This section essentially provides the Pollution Control Board powers to deny industries access to power, water and other public utilities for gross violation of the Act.
When the State fails to uphold the law it becomes obligatory on the people to protect the letter and spirit of the law to ensure the wider public interest. It was incumbent upon them to cut off access to the site and erect barriers to entry. A bridge spanning a small ravine presented the only point of access to the Engelhard facility; the villagers demolished this bridge thus cutting off site access. Such strong moves not only showed they could resist the threat of the project and the threats by officials against them, but also demonstrated very visually the extents they would go to uphold the law and defend their lives and livelihoods. The level of local public support had by now reached such heights that construction stopped and the project was eventually abandoned. However, there was never any official move by the Government to investigate how such gross violations involving very senior officials and elected representatives was allowed to occur. Engelhard for its part, claimed with the United States Securities Exchange Commission that their withdrawal from the project was for financial reasons only!
ESG continues to campaign with the Government to make an Expert Committee report public and is pursuing action against Engelhard and its consultants for engaging in such corrupt and illegal acts and abusing human rights of the local communities through terror tactics.
ESG is an independent not-for-profit organisation that promotes the cause of environmental and social justice through research, documentation, advocacy, training and campaign support. We aim to support the rights of local communities and voiceless ecosystems in a responsible, progressive manner that keeps contextual complexities in mind.