CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the State government and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to file their responses to a petition filed by Vedanta challenging the government's order refusing permission to set up a green copper manufacturing plant at the Sterlite unit premises in Thoothukudi.
The government had ordered the closure of the copper plant in 2018, citing air, water and land pollution. The matter took a devastating turn after 13 people, most of them protesters, were killed when the police opened fire.
Later, when Vedanta, which owns Sterlite copper unit, challenged the government order, it was dismissed by the Madras High Court in 2020, which was upheld by the Supreme Court subsequently.
On January 9, Vedanta submitted an application to the State seeking permission to establish a green copper manufacturing unit at the premises. It submitted several research and technical reports on green copper production to press its case, but the government rejected the plea through an order dated January 27.
Challenging this, Vedanta approached the High Court seeking to quash the order and to direct the constitution of a multidisciplinary expert committee monitored by the court. As per its proposal, the committee should have officials from TNCB, the Ministries of Environment and Forest and Mines, and Central Pollution Control board (CPCB), and other technical experts to conduct a detailed study on the feasibility of establishing the green copper plant.
The company also sought a direction to the government to take appropriate decisions based on the report submitted by the expert committee.
When the matter came up for hearing before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan, senior counsel Satish Parasaran, appearing for Vedanta, submitted that the authorities neither informed the company before inspecting the premises nor granted it an opportunity to present its explanation before rejecting the application.
He contended that the procedure adopted by the government was in violation of established rules and urged the court to order a technical assessment by a committee of experts from TNPCB, the Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Ministry of Mines, and CPCB.
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran argued that the proposal was effectively an attempt to revive the already closed Sterlite plant. He added that the Sterlite plant area has been declared as a contaminated area.
Following this, the court directed the State government and TNPCB to file their counter affidavits before posting the case for further hearing on February 26.