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Despite deaths, Vedanta firm in going ahead with expansion plans
London-listed Vedanta Resources hopes to restart its copper smelter in Thoothukudi and still wants to double its capacity despite protests demanding its closure that killed 13 people this week, a company executive said earlier.
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migrator
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New Delhi
The company’s position comes a day after the state of Tamil Nadu, where the smelter is located, said it was seeking a permanent closure of the plant due to allegations that it pollutes air and water of the locality. “We’re not in that stage to look at setting up a plant elsewhere,” P Ramnath, chief executive of Vedanta’s India copper business, said in an interview.
“We’re confident that we will be able to overcome these issues. It will certainly require a huge effort, but I am sure we can hope to restart as quickly as possible.” The plant, in the coastal city of Thoothukudi, has been shut since late March for maintenance and pending a renewal of its license, even as locals continued largely peaceful protests demanding its permanent shutdown.
Ramnath said the smelter suffered from a “perception” that it was the most polluting industry in Thoothukudi because of its size and that support of the local community would be important to restart the plant and double its capacity, as suggested by Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal.
“Our chairman has said that we need the license to operate, but also we need to build bridges with the local community so that we get their license to operate as well,” he said. “But at this point of time the atmosphere is very tense, temperatures are high.” On cutting of power to the plant on Thursday, Ramnath said the company was considering legal options to get power restored.
Delist company from London Stock Exchange, says UK’s Labour Party
LONDON: The United Kingdom’s Opposition Labour Party has called for Vedanta to be delisted from the London Stock Exchange following the death of 13 people during violent protests against the mining giant in Thoothukudi. John McDonnell, the UK’s Shadow Chancellor in a statement on Friday said, “After the massacre of the protestors this week, regulators must now take action.
Vedanta must be immediately delisted from the London Stock Exchange to remove its cloak of respectability, restore confidence in the governance of the Stock Exchange and prevent further reputational damage to London’s financial markets from this rogue corporation.” Hundreds of protesters mobilised by groups such as Foil Vedanta, Tamil People in the UK, Periyar Ambedkar Study Circle, South Asia Solidarity Group, Tamil Solidarity, Parai Voice of Freedom and Veera Tamilar Munnani staged protests alongside worldwide action to condemn the Tamil Nadu government’s “collusion” in what they have termed as “corporate massacre.”
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