SC REJECTS VEDANTA PLEA TO REOPEN STERLITE PLANT

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow Vedanta Ltd to reopen its Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi while the case against its alleged environmental violations is pending.

Vedanta filed the interim petition in SC after the Madras high court on August 18 disallowed it from reopening the smelter that was sealed in May 2018. The Tamil Nadu government shuttered the plant after protests over suspected environmental pollution from it led to a confrontation, in which 13 demonstrators died in police firing. A Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman adjourned the case to a detailed hearing in January.

During Wednesday’s arguments, villagers from Thoothukkudi opposed the reopening even on a trial basis. The counsel for villagers argued that wells have dried up in the locality, drinking water has turned poisonous, and residents are falling victim to cancer.

Vedanta’s counsel told the bench that it is necessary to reopen the plant, which employed 4,000 people and provides indirect employment to more than 2 million people.

Vedanta said the high court order was not based on principles of natural justice, and that the court heard all intervenors but did not provide adequate hearing to Vedanta.

A Madras high court division bench of justices T.S. Sivgnanam and V. Bhavani Subbaroyan heard the case for 42 days beginning December 2019, before reserving judgment on January 8. In its judgment on August 18, the high court observed that the unit had violated environmental laws. The court dismissed 10 writ petitions filed by Vedanta against orders passed by the state government and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board against the smelter, under which they refused the company permission to reopen the unit or engage in production, disconnected electricity supplies, and sealed the premises. The court also rejected Vedanta’s argument that the closure was triggered by the May 2018 incident.

VEDANTA COUNSEL HAD TOLD THE SC BENCH THAT IT IS CRUCIAL TO OPEN THE PLANT, WHICH PROVIDED JOBS TO 4,000 PEOPLE