TN to oppose green court order on Sterlite
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said on Saturday his government will appeal a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order allowing the Sterlite Copper plant at thoo thu ku di to re open.
Earlier in the day the country’s green court set aside the state’s order shutter-ing the UK-based Vedanta irm’s copper smelter plant permanently.
Environment minister KC Karuppannan said the state would ile An Appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. “Our stand is clear: we do not want this smelter to reopen,” Karuppannan told the media.
The plant was shut after the death of 13 people protesting against the lethal pollution from it. On May 22, the protesters were marching towards the plant to mark 100 days of the agitation when they
were shot at without any provocation.
The TNPCB (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board) snapped electricity to the Sterlite plant. On Saturday, the NGT said power should be restored to the plant if it met certain conditions such as protection of environment under the law. “The appellant will also be entitled to restoration of electricity for its operations,” the tribunal said.
The Sterlite plant had been polluting groundwater and making people fall ill with serious diseases, local people say.
The NGT directed the Tamil Nadu state pollution regulator to issue orders for the copper smelter to reopen within three weeks. It also ordered the company to spend Rs10 million within three years for the welfare of inhabitants in the area.
Vedanata counsel said the amount may be spent on projects like water supply, hospital, health services and skill development.
Overall, the tribunal has directed Vedanta to spend Rs 1 billion over the next three years for Thoothukudi’s “welfare activities.” A panel of experts set up by the NGT last month said the authorities in Tamil Nadu had failed to comply with procedures before shutting down the smelter.
NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the government order cannot be referred to as an independent order “but relied on and endorsing the views of the TNPCB, which is under challenge AND ARE not suficient For ordering closure or refusal to grant even consent.” “If there are no other materials for the government of Tamil Nadu to arrive at the conclusion of closure on the ground of irreversible pollution being caused to the environment allowing the unit to function, then it cannot be said to be a policy decision to close down the industry permanently.