MOU between Government of Uttarakhand (SIDCUL) and Coca Cola (HCCBPL) was signed 17th of April at Vikasnagar.  The HCCBPL will invest 600 crors for setting up a plant in Vikasnagar in District Dehradun.

The Chief Minister takes this as an achievement. But if one goes by the experience of communities where Coca Cola has set up its plants, the people have lost their water. This is what happened in water rich Plachimada in Kerala where Coca Cola was mining 1.5 million liter water per day creating water famine for the local communities. The women of Plachimada led by Mylamma started a Satyagraha against Coca Cola and had the plant shut down. The local Gram Sabha cancelled its license and the high court of Kerala ruled that water does not belong to Coca Cola nor it belongs to the state to give to Coca Cola. Water is a community resource and it belongs to the community.

The Coca Cola plant in Mehandi Ganj near Varanasi on the banks of the Ganga has also been facing protests because of the depletion and pollution of ground water. Since the plant was setup in 1999 the water level has dropped by nearly 8 meter, or 26 feet. hand pumps. wells, bore wells and ponds in the area have dried up and the government have banned new hand pumps and bore wells in a 5 km area around the plant. Recently Coca Cola applied to the CGWA and the UPPCB to increase its groundwater usage from the current 50000 cubic meters annually to 250,000 cubic meter for the bottling plant in Mehandi Ganj. The villages are up in arms against Coca Cola stealing their water.

Inspite of all the evidences that coca Cola steals the water the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand is encouraging the water theft in Doon Valley by signing an MOU with Coca Cola

On 20th April 2013 Dr. Vandana Shiva, Managing Trustee of Navdanya, Dr. Florence Pandhi of Friends of the Doon and Dr. Anil Gautam of PSI addressed the Press Conference to caution the citizens and the Government against Coca Cola's entry in Doon Valley.

Dr. Shiva had done the study on lime stone mining in 1982 which led to the Supreme Court ban because mining wad destroying the Doon Valley's water resources. Dr. Shiva has also worked with the communities in Plachimada to shut down the Coca Cola plant. Dr. Shiva said "as we prepare to celebrate Earth Day (22nd April) we cannot allow the declaration of Doon Valley as a Green Valley to be undone by Coca Cola and its water theft and its water pollution." Dr. Florence Pandhi who has been an active member of Friends of Doon and was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the closure of the mines committed herself and the Friends of the Doon to continue to protect the water resources of Doon Valley. Dr. Anil Gautam of PSI who had carried our study on the pollution on the ground water by the Coca Cola plant briefed the press about the pollution and depletion of ground water.

 So now we need to make out whether this MOU will bring anything great for the state or help the Coca Cola company to take away the resources of the state and deplete the ground water and give pollution in return.