Coal India letter gets strong backing

115 civil society groups backed a letter urging the World Bank Board to endorse an action plan for remedial measures on the Coal India project. The local NGO, which brought a successful claim to the Bank’s Inspection Panel, has demanded that action be taken to compensate people who have lost their land and livelihoods. The Bank’s management took a surprisingly long time to file its response to the Panel report, and as the Panel has no ability to enforce action by the Bank, civil society groups decided to turn up the pressure.