An avoidable tragedy

The death of 10 people as a result of police firing following public protests against Sterlite Copper in Thoothukudi is a clear case of mismanagement by the authorities. The Tamil Nadu government needs to own up responsibility for failing to intervene earlier or come up with a credible solution which could have avoided the bloodshed. Tuesday’s protest was not by a random crowd or a spontaneous flare-up but one that had been brewing for a hundred days. Even in March, thousands of demonstrators had brought to a halt the port city in South Tamil Nadu. The State government and the police, therefore, cannot claim that there had been no warning. On Monday, the Administration had promulgated Section 144 (IPC) in the city to prevent precisely such a gathering. Of course, a section of the mob too, which indulged in stone throwing and arson, is to blame for the situation spiralling out of control. Nevertheless, the lethal firing which followed appears to have been against standard operating protocols and exposes the lack of preparedness and training of the police in crowd management and riot control.

But the antipathy to Sterlite’s existence is neither a one-off event nor a recent development. The company has been in the eye of such storms since it started in 1997. Protesters have time and again accused Sterlite of polluting the environment and threatening their livelihood and health. This unit of Vedanta Resources, a global giant in this business, has studiously protested its innocence in courts including the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court. The Tamil Nadu government and the State Pollution Control Board have only been reactive, but have not taken the initiative to address people’s concerns. For instance, in March 2013, the State government had ordered the unit to be shut down after a suspected gas leak. But the National Green Bench allowed the unit to function because the charge could not be proved. The Supreme Court too upheld the Tribunal’s order. The State government has gone on appeal. More recently, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had declined to renew the company’s licence when it had come up for renewal in March 2018 saying that the unit had not complied with environmental guidelines.

As if by rote, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a one-man inquiry commission to look into the ‘law and order incidents’ and file a report. But that’s not enough. If the company is really a violator, why does the State government not take decisive action? It is entirely up to the State government and the Pollution Control Board authorities to prove or put to rest the charges of environment pollution against the company. Perhaps an independent and credible expert agency has to be brought in to allay the public’s fears. Simply shutting down the unit every time there are protests cannot be a solution. There are livelihoods at stake in the industry too.

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