Indian villagers move US SC against Gujarat power project

WASHINGTON: The World Bank (WB) subsidiary funded Indian power plant has been challenged in the US Supreme Court here Tuesday.

The petition, filed by Indian villagers on the grounds of environmental damages, was granted by the Supreme Court. The power plant in Gujarat has been funded by the US based International Finance Corporation, a wing of the World Bank that provided $450 million for the project. In the petition the villagers want to hold the organisation responsible for damages.

A lead plaintiff along with other Indian villagers, fishermen and farmers maintained in their complaint that the coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant has resulted in enormous environmental destruction. They argued that the power plant has failed to comply with international environmental standards. “International organisations play an ever-increasing role in the economic landscape of this country and the world. Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit - no matter how strictly commercial their activities are; no matter how egregious their actions are; and no matter the views of the executive branch has significance,” the petitioners said according to some reports.

The petitioners approached the US Supreme Court after their petitions were dismissed by lower courts two years ago and then in 2017 with a view that IFC has immunity under the International Organisations Immunity Act of 1945. The complainants had sued the IFC saying that it had brought negligence, public nuisance, trespass and breach of contract. IFC is an international institution with 184 member countries that helps secure financing for projects in developing nations.

The US Supreme Court, however, agreed to consider revive the lawsuit announcing that it would examine and decide the status of immunity to IFC. The case is expected to come up in early October this year.