Four complaints were filed between October 2006 and February 2007 regarding Mahindra Shubh Labh Services, Ltd., (MSSL) a developer and operator of Agricultural Service Centers in India’s major agro-climatic areas. Each of the complainants requested confidentiality.  

IFC holds $2.2 million in equity in MSSL, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s largest farm equipment company. IFC approved the project on September 12, 2002, and invested on August 18, 2003.

The complaint met the required criteria for CAO assessment. That is, the complaint pertains to an IFC/MIGA project, the issue(s) raised in the complaint address the environmental and social impacts of IFC/MIGA investments, and the complainant(s) would be affected if the social and/or environmental impacts raised in the complaint occurred.

The CAO Ombudsman conducted extensive negotiations between the company and the individual complainants, but was unable to help them resolve the issues. The impasse involved a difference of opinion in how the cases should be closed. MSSL requested the cases be settled through arbitration, while the complainants requested a mediated approach. Because of this impasse, and in accordance with the CAO’s Operational Guidelines, the four MSSL complaints have been transferred to CAO Compliance for appraisal to determine whether an audit is warranted. The preliminary and final ombudsman assessment reports include the parties’ perspectives and details of the negotiated process.

This case was transferred to CAO Compliance for appraisal and is now closed.