Press for action against Vedanta: Anti-Sterlite group

“We will meet all the candidates in the fray for the coastal constituency and urge them to press for criminal action against the Vedanta,” Fatima Babu of ASPM said on behalf of Chennai Solidarity Group and Poovulagin Nanbargal.

Recalling the history of the white collared criminals committing red-blooded crimes escaping unpunished like in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, Prof Fatima warned that similar mass death could happen in Thoothukudi as well with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board refusing to initiate criminal charges against the Sterlite Copper. “Underscoring the importance of criminal prosecution, we request Thoothukudi candidates to declare their intent to hold Vedanta and its officials criminally liable for violating environment laws, committing fraud and falsifying data and representations to statutory authorities,” she said, adding that her petition seeking to initiate criminal charges against the Vedanta officials would be heard by the Madras High Court on Wednesday.

Environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman said that there was no response from the TNPCB for the letter written on March 2 pointing out 15 violations done by Vedanta. He said that the evidence collected through RTI, the documents presented by the TNPCB and the state in the court reveals serious fraud, unlicensed operation, illegal dumping of waste and making false declarations to statutory authorities to underplay pollution. “These are all crimes under the Air Act, Water Act and Environmental Protection Act. Offenders are liable for prosecution. Proven offenders are liable to be jailed or fined,” he said.