Indian High Court has ordered that water from the river Tamirabarani in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu must not be diverted to Coca-Cola and Pepsi producing plants in Gangaikondan due to the severe water shortages in the area.

The Madras High Court passed the interim injunction disallowing river water to the bottling plants for two months on November 21, 2016...

The court order came as the result of a public interest litigation filed by FEDCOT, a statewide consumer organization, which had sought to stop the use of river water for production of Coca-Cola and Pepsi product because water scarcity has diminished both drinking water as well as water for irrigation in the area...

As a result of the widespread campaigns against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo for their mismanagement of groundwater resources, both companies planned to increase reliance on surface water for their bottling plants...

Responding to the HC order, a PepsiCo India spokesperson told DNA, “We at PepsiCo India are committed to the highest standards of governance and conduct detailed due diligence in selecting locations for bottling plants.  At Tirunelveli, the land in question belongs to Prathishta Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. with whom we have a co-pack arrangement. The land has been allotted to them by SIPCOT, the industrial arm of the Government of Tamil Nadu.