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On January 29, the Supreme Court is likely to pass orders on the Vedanta group’s plea seeking the reopening of the Sterlite copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi.
In a hearing today, the apex court almost passed an interim order but desisted from doing so, following a request from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which sought more time to reply and also a request from MDMK leader Vaiko to be heard in the matter. Both the parties opposed the plant’s reopening.
After hearing the parties, a bench consisting of Justices RF Nariman and Navin Sinha agreed to hear the appeal and all connected matters, including the civil appeal of 2013 filed by the State on January 29, said P Ramnath, CEO, Sterlite Copper.
The Bench was hearing Vedanta’s petition for non-compliance of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s order by the Tamil Nadu government to reopen the plant, which was ordered to be closed by the State government on May 28.
This was due to allegations of environmental pollution, and following death of at least 13 people and injury to several others in a police firing during anti-Sterlite protests. The NGT on December 15 dismissed the State government’s order of the plant’s closure and ordered its reopening.
However, the TNPCB declined to give consent to operate the plant to Vedanta, stating that State government had moved an appeal in the Supreme Court against the NGT verdict.
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