Vedan agrees to pay Dong Nai farmers $6.26 mln

Vedan has agreed to pay almost VND120 billion in compensation to farmers in Dong Nai Province for polluting a local river and affecting their livelihoods.

Vedan has agreed to pay almost VND120 billion in compensation to farmers in Dong Nai Province for polluting a local river and affecting their livelihoods.

The money, equivalent to US$6.26 million, will be paid to farmers in four communes in Long Thanh and Nhon Trach Districts, the Taiwanese MSG producer informed the province people’s committee Wednesday.

The company has asked the farmers to accept the settlement and not file lawsuits.

On Monday it had agreed to pay VND53.6 billion to farmers in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and VND45.7 billion to those in HCMC.

Last month it had offered a total of VND130 billion, outraging the farmers who said it was too little compared to their losses.

The farmers then put forward new claims based on calculations by the National University’s Environment and Natural Resources Institute, which said Vedan caused 89% of the river’s pollution.

Many have also started to file against the company, while two major supermarket chains, Saigon Co.op and Big C, began a boycott against monosodium glutamate and other seasoning products made by Vedan.

In September 2008 the company was caught red-handed by environmental police dumping untreated waste into the 76 km Thi Vai River which runs through HCMC, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Subsequent investigations found it illegally discharged 105.6 million liters of untreated sewage every month between 1994 and 2008, destroying fish and shrimp ponds and ruining farmlands along the river. – Tuoitre

Tags: Vedan Vietnam