An interim plea had challenged the Madras HC’s order which refused to temporarily reopen its Sterlite Copper smelting plant at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.
The Supreme Court of India has said that it will not recall its order, in which it had turned down an interim plea by Vendanta group, seeking permission to temporarily reopen its Sterlite Copper smelting plant at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The mining giant had said that the reason was to carry out their administrative works. However, a three-member bench of the apex court had on December 2, 2020 rejected the plea and refused to grant permission to reopen the factory.
Vedanta in its petition, filed before the SC, had challenged an August 2020 verdict by the Madras High Court, which rejected a plea from the mining giant for permission to reopen its Sterlite copper unit at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. The plant has been shut since May 2018 over violation of environmental laws.
Prior to the closure, residents from villages around Sterlite and activists had staged a long protest against the plant’s proposed expansion plans. On May 22, on the 100th day of the protest, police opened fire on the protesters, leaving 13 dead with bullets to their head, chest and back. The incident evoked protests and condemnations across the state and India.
The Tamil Nadu government closed down the factory on May 24, facing backlash from the public for the deaths, as well as for the failure of the state’s Pollution Control Board (PCB), as the plant had not complied with environmental norms.
The case went to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and later the Supreme Court. In February 2019, the apex court set aside the NGT’s order to reopen the plant, ruling that the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to do so. The case was redirected to the Madras High Court and later back to the Supreme Court.
Source: The News Minute