Compliance Advisor Ombudsman

Complaint
The IFC-supported India Infrastructure Fund (IIF) is managed by the Infrastructure Development and Finance Company Limited (IDFC)’s Project Equity Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of IDFC.  The IIF is based in Mumbai and makes equity investments in energy and utilities, transport infrastructure, telecommunications, and other infrastructure solely in India. The target size of the Fund is US$1 billion and IFC's equity investment is $100 million (2007).

A portfolio investment of the IIF is GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited (GKEL), a part of the GMR Group.  Kamalanga Energy is a special purpose vehicle set up by GMR Energy Limited to develop and operate a 1400 MW coal based power plant near Kamalanga village in Dhenkanal, a district of Odisha state.

In April 2011, Odisha Chas Parivesh Surekhsa Parishad (Odisha Agriculture and Environmental Protection Council), a grassroots organization, together with the Delhi Forum, an Delhi based advocacy and research organization, filed a complaint with the CAO on behalf of people affected by the project.  The complaint voices concerns about disclosure of project information and transparency about potential environmental and social risks and impacts of Kamalanga Energy in Odisha, and more broadly, IFC's financing role. 

CAO Action

The CAO found the complaint eligible for further assessment in May 2011 and conducted several field visits to meet the parties and discuss options for addressing the issues raised in the complaint. The assessment period was extended for this case beyond the original 120 days. 

In May 2012, the complainants and the company expressed their commitment to addressing the concerns in the complaint through a dialogue process facilitated by CAO.  CAO trained community and company representatives in dispute resolution skills and discussed the parameters for the dialogue process, and worked with the parties to design a dialogue process. An Assessment Report was shared with the parties in November 2012.  A first meeting between the parties was convened in January 2013 at which the parties did not find mutually acceptable parameters for dialogue going forward. 

Status 
CAO has transferred this case to its compliance function for appraisal.  The dispute resolution team's finalized Assessment Report and Conclusion Report are available under "View Documents" below in English and Odia, alongside IFC's response.

Updated: April 24, 2013