Shareholders, too, complain against Dow

eight shareholders and an institutional investor of Dow Chemicals have complained against the company. In a letter to the us Securities and Exchange Commission, they wrote that action should be taken against the company because it had not informed them of its liabilities related to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. The complaint comes after they got to know, through an internal document made public by a right to information (rti) application, that India held the company liable.

"We...request that the Commission evaluate whether the Prime Minister's internal document, obtained through a public records request in India, may demonstrate that the company has failed to appropriately disclose information to shareholders in its annual or quarterly reports and take appropriate recourse if the Commission finds that the company has breached such a duty," the complainants wrote on May 14. The shareholders added that the company had proposed to invest us $1 billion in India without resolving its liabilities.

The rti application on Dow's proposed investments in India was filed by some survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The survivors found the law ministry had said that "'irrespective of the manner in which Union Carbide has merged or has been acquired by Dow, if there is any legal liability it would have to be borne by Dow Chemicals." Dow which bought Union Carbide in 2001 maintained that the liabilities arising out of the disaster was taken care of under the 1989 settlement.

The company is planning to invest Rs 300 crore for a research and development facility in Pune and a Rs 600 crore chemical plant in Dahej in Gujarat.

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