Environment
Support Group ®
S-3, Rajashree Apartments, 18/57, 1st Main
Road, S. R. K. Gardens,
Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560
041. INDIA
Telefax: 91-80-6341977/6531339
Email: esg@bgl.vsnl.net.in Website: http://www.altindia.net/esg/index.htm
Mr. Veerbagu
Chief Manager
SREI International Finance Limited
#52, Vittal Mallya Road
Bangalore - 560001
Telefax: 080-227 6727 July
09, 2002
RE: Compliance
with World Bank/IFC and Government of India policies for financing of
Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP)
Dear Mr. Veerbagu,
We
believe that SREI International Finance Ltd. is financing elements of the
Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
has a significant equity holding in SREI and according to the IFC website
project listing, SREI receives funds from the IFC.
On one of the IFC/SREI projects, IFC lending policy dictates
that:
“SREI will be
required to undertake an environmental review of eligible borrower's
environmental performance and each sub-project's compliance with
applicable host country environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and
standards as well as applicable World Bank policies and guidelines.” [emphasis
added]
As SREI is receiving IFC funding, and given the possibility
that SREI is financing the BMICP, it appears that SREI is required to ensure
that the BMICP is following applicable World Bank policies and guidelines, and
Indian environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and standards.
From our review, as the BMICP has not satisfied a string of
compliance conditions in conditional clearances issued by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, it
appears that SREI, by financing the BMICP may be breaking the IFC’s loan
conditions.
We would appreciate your comments on this matter at the
earliest.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Leo F. Saldanha Nagini
Prasad Rajmohan Pillai
Coordinator – ESG Campaigns
Coordinator Coordinator
(Infrastructure Finance Research)
Cc:
1.
Ms.
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, Director, South & Southeast Asia Department,
International Finance Corporation Email:
miskenderian@ifc.org
2.
Mr.
Joseph O’Keefe, Manager, Corporate Relations, International Finance Corporation
3.
Ms.
Yasmin Tayyab, Program Officer, Corporate Relations, International Finance
Corporation
4.
Salil
Kr.Gupta, Chairman, SREI International Finance Ltd.
5.
Hemant
Kanoria, Managing Director, SREI International Finance Ltd.
6.
Dhruba
Pada Gupta, Director, SREI International Finance Ltd.
7.
Vasantrai
H. Pandya, Director, SREI International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
8.
Dr.
Satish C. Jha, Director, SREI International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
9.
Mr. B.
Swaminathan, Director, SREI International Finance Ltd. Email:corporate@srei.com
10. Dr. Vasant H. Karmarkar, Director,
SREI International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
11. Sunil Kanoria, Director, SREI
International Finance Ltd. Email: sunil@srei.com
12. S S Chaturvedi, Wholetime Director,
SREI International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
13. P K Pandey, Wholetime Director, SREI
International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
14. K K Mohanty, Wholetime Director,
SREI International Finance Ltd. Email: corporate@srei.com
15. SREI Equipment, Vehicles, Email: lhmkt@srei.com
16. SREI Auto, Email: auto@srei.com
17. Mr. P.K. Pandey, Email: pandey@srei.com
18. Mr. Sudip Datta, Email: sudip@srei.com
19. Ms. C Roychowdhury, Email: chandana@srei.com
20. Mr Mohit Mathur, Email: mohit@srei.com
21. SREI Infrastructure, Email: infra@srei.com
22. SREI Fixed Deposits, Email: fixed@srei.com
23. J.N. Mukhopadhyaya, Email: jnm@srei.com
24. Subrata Ghosh, Email: jnm@srei.com