Church of England part owns Vedanta mining company accused of ruining the way of life for a local Indian community
Church of England accused of unethical investments
It’s emerged the Church of England part owns a company accused of ruining the way of life for a local Indian community.
Vedanta is mining in Eastern India but local people say they’re being forced off their land. The Church of England is a shareholder in the company, and will meet with Indian campaigners today.
Local councils and the Church of England will come under fire for holding shares in the mining group which is opening a new mine in forests on the mountain of Niyam Raja in eastern India.
The London-based company that the Church has shares in is alleged to be pursuing an industrial scheme that would damage a sacred site and increase the threat of climate change.
Meredith Alexander from charity ActionAid which is campaigning against Vedanta, tells Premier they’re not trying to embarrass the church:
“The reason we are speaking to the Church of England is because it’s one avenue of putting pressure on Vedanta. We are not here because we want to campaign against the Church of England.
The aim is to find a way to work together.” Church spokesperson Edward Mason says they want to find out more before taking action. He said:
“The ethical investment advisory group was concerned to hear about the allegations that were made against Vedanta. We are trying to find out more about them. So we are going to be meeting ActionAid and a representative Kondh people to hear their point of view.”
Vedanta argues that the project in the Orissa region will bring vital jobs and economic development to an impoverished area.
The company also has the backing of the Indian government for a project that would exploit more than 670 hectares of land and for which a bauxite refinery has already been built.
Vedanta says it’s acting in accordance with local court rulings and has given Premier this statement:
“Vedanta shares the concerns that have been raised by some of our investors about the campaigns of ActionAid against the lawful commencement of mining operations. As a company we are committed to developing this project in line with the best international standards for environmental management and in a way that benefits communities and people around it.”
Tags: Church Life
February 7th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
What Planet are the investment people of The Church of England On?
I’ve just seen the documentary Cowboys of India and the company Vedanta Resources are a disgrace to the human race. Vedanta Resources are purely powered by greed and stepping on the very poorest of people whilst stealing a countries natural resurces and leaving a trail of pollution in its trail.
Anil Agarwal and his investors will most definitley go to hell when they leave this precious earth. Ive just read via the link below that the financiers and biggest offenders behind this are also: Barclays plc, Standard Chartered, and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), now owned to the tune of 70% by British taxpayers! – http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9504
What is this world coming to……………