Mining firm Vedanta on Wednesday moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to set up an expert panel to examine the feasibility of permitting the proposed green copper project in Thoothukudi district.
The development comes days after the TNPCB board rejected Vedanta’s application to operate the facility in place of the defunct Sterlite plant. (Reuters)The development comes days after the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) rejected the firm’s application to operate the facility in place of the board’s defunct Sterlite plant.
As per Vedanta’s plea, the company approached the TNPCB in this regard, however, the state board rejected its plea on January 27 this year.
The High Court has sought Tamil Nadu’s response by February 26 on whether it will consider setting up an expert committee to examine the feasibility of allowing the proposed green copper project.
The Sterlite Copper Plant at Thoothukudi, which began operations in 1997, faced massive protests from local residents over serious concerns about air and groundwater pollution and its impact on public health. In May 2018, 13 people were killed when police opened fire on protesters opposing a proposed expansion of the plant, sparking nationwide outrage. The Tamil Nadu government later ordered the unit to be closed permanently. The state’s decision was later upheld by the court and the factory has since been closed.
Vedanta now claims that the closure has increased India’s dependence on copper imports and argues that its proposed “green copper” facility offers an environmentally compliant alternative at the same site.
It told the court that its proposed facility would be based on “fundamentally different and distinct” technology from that used in earlier smelting operations and that the new plant would “adopt environmentally sound processes aimed at reducing emissions, hazardous waste and slag production.”
Senior advocate Satish Parasaran, who appeared for Vedanta, argued that the TNPCB rejected Vedanta’s plea, without prior notice or giving the company an opportunity to be heard. Parasaran argued for an expert committee comprising representatives of the state and central governments to examine the project.
Vedanta has also sought interim permission to enter the Sterlite plant premises to carry out preparatory activities.
The Tamil Nadu government, through AAG Ravindran, however argued that Vedanta was “trying to pour old wine into a new bottle” and simply gave it a new name of “Green Copper”. He argued that the company should have filed a statutory appeal against the TNPCB’s order without vesting the High Court with writ jurisdiction.
The AAG added that environmental protection should be prioritized over economic considerations highlighted by the company.
