In 1992, the World Bank decided to continue supporting the Indian Sardar Sarovar dam and irrigation projects, despite overriding calls for a suspension of loan disbursements from Canada, the USA, Japan, Germany, Australia and Norway. An independent review team had called the project "flawed" and argued for a halt to construction while a thorough re-evaluation is undertaken. The review report also said the Bank routinely failed to make India carry out proper environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans, as the 1985 loan agreement required. Legal covenants were flagged and then forgotten, and conditions relaxed and discarded when the Indian Government failed to comply. Some thousands of the 240,000 villagers threatened with displacement have formed "drowning squads" and are refusing to move. Constitutionally the bank is unaccountable and legally immune for the people affected by its projects.
Policies of the International Monetary Fund which affect the lives of a billion people are negotiated in secret, with key conditions not released to the public. The people who bear the burden of these policies often do not even have access to the agreements which have been negotiated.
The corporations in the top 200 list of 2001 reflect current global economic trends. Reforms made by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have eroded the dominance of manufacturing and natural resource-based companies.