Pollution caused by Sterlite unit is high compared to others in SIPCOT, claims govt

Senior counsel KV Viswanathan made the submissions on behalf of the State government before Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Bhavani Subbaroyan, hearing the plea moved by Vedanta challenging the government order directing the closure of its unit.

He further submitted that the State has full authority and powers to shut down a factory when it causes serious threat to the environment and ecology. Though there were many other industries in the Sipcot area where Sterlite is located, the pollution caused by Sterlite is much higher than others, the senior counsel said.

Also, noting that the unit has flouted many rules which amounts to violation of statutory provisions warranting closure of the factory, he argued that the State government has all the powers to close a unit on the grounds of pollution and similarly Sterlite has been shut down for causing serious pollution to water resources in the area, besides causing damage to the environment.

The senior counsel also denied the allegation that the closure order was a knee jerk reaction to the anti-Sterlite protest resulting in police firing which killed 13 persons. He said that the protests might be one among the reasons for Sterlite’s closure but that was not the lone reason.

The bench, on recording the submissions, adjourned the case for further hearing to August 7.

It may be noted that during the previous hearing, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) produced samples of copper slag and said that 3.25 lakh tonnes of it were dumped on 1.8 acres of land inside the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi.

However, Senior counsel C Ariyama Sundaram, appearing for Vedanta, objected to such a submission and claimed that what was produced before the court was copper lumps and not copper slag. Noting that copper slag is granulated, he undertook to produce it before the court when he gets the opportunity to reply to TNPCB’s submissions.