Tata Group The petition claims that the Tata Group's Mundra thermal power project has 'devastated' the local environment and way of life of the people in the area.

NEW DELHI--Villagers fighting against a controversial Tata Group thermal power plant in Mundra in Gujarat are looking to the US Supreme Court to decide whether they can sue the World Bank's lending arm for funding the project. The group's extraordinary petition against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was heard last week in Washington and is expected to be decided in the near future. "The hearing went well. We got 15 minutes to argue and the US government, which is supporting our contention, 15 minutes. The IFC was given 30 minutes to make its arguments as well. It was very systematic. We are hopeful," said Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan, a fish workers' rights organisation based in Mundra taluka of the Kutch district. He said about 10,000 residents of Mundra who live near the coast have been adversely impacted by the plant. While relatively powerless villagers trying to take on giant corporations eyeing their land is not an uncommon scenario in India, two things set this case apart: one, the affected community has taken a global finance corporation to a US court, and two, the notoriously pro-business Donald Trump administration has thrown its weight behind the petitioners. Patel's organisation is one of the six petitioners in the case. The remaining five are fish workers and farmers who live near the contentious power plant in Mundra. Their petition has sought to sue the IFC for partly funding, through a loan of $450 million, the Tata Group's project, which allegedly "did not comply" with the corporation's environmental and social action plan designed to protect the surrounding communities. Though it is not a party to the case in the US, the Tata Group has denied the accusations against its crucial Ultra Mega Power Project, which is capable of producing over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of power. The notoriously pro-business Donald Trump administration has thrown its weight behind the petitioners HuffPost India has reviewed a copy of the petition, which claims that the project has "devastated" the local environment and way of life of the people in the area. Locals, says the petition, are no longer able to get fresh water because the plant's construction caused "saltwater intrusion into the groundwater". Further, it asserts that "the plant's cooling system discharges thermal pollution into the sea, killing off marine life", which the fishers depend upon for their incomes and other residents for their nourishment. It also states that "coal dust and ash" are contaminating the surrounding land and air since they are released from a conveyor system that is used to transport coal to the plant. The IFC has disputed these claims and even argued against the Mundra residents' right to sue the corporation in US courts by stating that it enjoys immunity under American law. The US Supreme Court now has to decide if the country's law gives the IFC immunity from being sued.

Mark Wilson via Getty Images Unlike in India, where a heavy workload and paucity of judges can mean delays of years or even decades, the US Supreme Court only takes up around 100-150 cases each year.