In a major setback to Vedanta Limited, the Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed its plea to reopen the Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district. A division bench comprising Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and V. Bhavani Subbaroyan refused to allow reopening of the plant by dismissing the petitions filed by Sterlite Copper challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s order on May 28, 2018 to shut down the plant.
Vedanta Limited had filed the petition before the Madras High Court in February 2019, which came up for hearing in July 2019 and the verdict was reserved in January 2020 by Justices Sivagnanam and Subbaroyan. The petition was filed in the Madras High Court after the Supreme Court dismissed the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order to reopen the plant on grounds of maintainability.
The Supreme Court, however, allowed Vedanta Limited to knock the doors of the Madras High Court. Two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down the NGT’s order to reopen the plant, Sterlite Copper approached the MHC against the state government’s order. “It is a big victory for the people of Thoothukudi. The court has upheld the people’s requests,” says Jessica Anthony, who was part of the protests on May 22, 2018.
The Sterlite Copper smelter in Tamil Nadu’s port city of Thoothukudi was shut down following protests against expansion of the plant by the people. The rally and the protest ended in a police firing killing 13 people. Soon after the death of 13 innocent civilians, the entire port city slipped into an uncontrollable anger against the rulers of the state. While a one-man commission headed by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan was appointed to inquire into the police excess, the government immediately ordered closure of the plant, sensing the growing unrest among the people.
The government opposed the reopening saying that the company was polluting the area. Following this, Vedanta approached the NGT, which allowed it to reopen the plant in December 2018. Challenging this, the state government approached the Supreme Court in January 2019. The apex court, however, said the tribunal did not have the jurisdiction to allow the reopening of the plant, but gave the liberty to Sterlite Copper to approach the Madras HC. Following this, the company filed a plea against the state government’s closure order, in February 2019.
Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta Limited, got the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to open its plant in Thoothukudi in 1994 from the state’s Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The construction at the site in Thoothukudi for the copper smelter plant began in 1995, even when the locals protested against it saying the industry could possibly pollute the environment.
However, the operations began in 1996, despite the public opposition. The government then gave licence for the plant operations even when the National Trust for Clean Environment approached the Madras High Court challenging the environment clearances. The plant began its copper smelting and in 1997, the locals once again opposed the plant for polluting the environment and got into protests. The locals alleged that the pollution caused illness.
In 1998, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), in a report, said the plant was polluting the area by flouting the government’s rule. It said the plant was built in the 14-km radius of the Gulf of Mannar, against the government’s rule. As per government rules, any plant should not be constructed within the 25-km radius of the Gulf of Mannar, which is ecologically sensitive.
In 1999, the locals again protested saying the plant was polluting the area. In 2001, the protests widened as people complained of the toxic waste from the plant polluting the water tanks near the plant. The relationship between the people and the plant remained strained for over several years and in 2010, the Madras High Court ordered shut down of the plant for heavy pollution.
Following this, the company appealed in the Supreme Court and got the high court order lifted. The plant resumed operations in September 2010. After a report of a gas leak in March 2013, once again the state government ordered to shut down the plant.
Again the apex court came in and fined slapped a penalty of Rs 100 crore on the company for polluting the environment. But it allowed operations within a month. So the plant reopened again in June 2013. Five years later, people fought to shut down the plant and in March 2018, the protests turned massive, leading to police firing and killing 13 civilians.
