The Killing Fields of Korba
Published by MAC on 2014-08-06Source: Nostromo Research
Why did 40 workers die at a Vedanta plant?
It's not often that MAC can offer a true "exclusive" - something noone else has yet published and which addresses one of the worst industrial disasters of the past five years, occurring in India in September 2009.
At least forty workers perished in this event', perhaps significantly more, but much of the evidence which might confirm this, was "lost" or destroyed shortly after the disaster.
Findings of a 32-month judicial Inquiry into the circumstances of the disaster were suppressed by a court order obtained by the very company which was primarily indicted for causing it.
That company is BALCO, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources plc, which last week celebrated the 10th anniversary of its entry on the London Stock Exchange (see: London Calling on Vedanta's tenth anniversary).
Editorial note: As stated in the following press release, the report was presented to Vedanta's board at its 1 August 2014 AGM in London.
Chairman Anil Agarwal claimed that the report was "sub judice". But it was pointed out that this ruling, made by a court in India, did not apply to the report's publication in the UK (or indeed outside of India).
That point was accepted by Vedanta's newly-apponted CEO, Tom Albanese, who confessed that he had only read "parts" of the report and promised he would respond to it, once he had read it in full, along with 'other' reports into the disaster (which he didn't name).
To download the Bakshi report,please go to the link in the following article
The Killing Fields of Korba
Nostromo Research
5 August 2014
Almost five years ago, in September 2009, at least forty workers died when a chimney suddenly collapsed at Korba in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
The chimney was being constructed to serve a coal-fired power plant for BALCO - a 51% subdisiary of the British mining company, Vedanta Resources plc.
The following month, the state government set up a Commission of Inquiry into the disaster, under a regional and sessions judge, Sandeep Bakshi.
After an investigation lasting 32 months (sic), Judge Bakshi delivered his report to the government in August 2012.
It charged the chimney's Chinese contractor, an Indian subcontractor. and BALCO, with numerous violations of safety regulations, poor construction methods and use of sub-standard materials.
BALCO was singled out by Judge Bakshi in no uncertain terms:
"Compliance with all the statutory requirements for the construction of the chimney was the responsibility of BALCO and the responsibility of determining the safety measures was also that of BALCO, because BALCO was the owner of the Project".
Report suppressed
Soon after Judge Bakshi submitted his report in its original Hindi, Vedanta went to the Chhattisgarh high court and secured a stay on its publication, arguing that BACLO had not been afforded a sufficient right of reply to allegations made in it.
This, despite the fact that some forty pages of the report was devoted to listing, and responding, to submissions made by, and on behalf of, BALCO
On Friday August 1, at Vedanta's 2014 Annual General Meeting, company chairman, Anil Agarwal, insisted that the report remained "sub judice" in India.
Nonetheless, a copy of the complete report was leaked to London-based Nostromo Research earlier this year and then translated into English.
The report can be downloaded as a pdf file here
This version was presented to the Vedanta board last week and it is now being released on-line
A full response from Vedanta to the extremely serious allegations contained in the report is now awaited.