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Can’t allow reopening of plant straightaway: SC on Vedanta case
The plant by Sterlite Copper, the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources -- a global mining and metals conglomerate -- has remained shut since 2018 over alleged violation of environmental norms and protests of the local population against its operation
The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that it could not straightaway allow the reopening of Vedanta’s Sterlite copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi as it must also protect the “voiceless people” and the “well-being of the community living in the area.”
“We have to protect the health of the people and their welfare. They are voiceless people. They all cannot come here. We have a duty towards protecting their well-being. We cannot be oblivious of the wider concerns of the community there...The sequitur arising for you to start operations cannot be there. If we take upon ourselves and reject the high court order and three years later, we see that there is a leak then imagine the moral responsibility will be on us,” said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.
The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing an appeal by the Sterlite Copper against a judgment of the Madras high court that affirmed a shutdown notice by the Tamil Nadu government and the state pollution control board in 2020.
The plant by Sterlite Copper, the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources -- a global mining and metals conglomerate -- has remained shut since 2018 over alleged violation of environmental norms and protests of the local population against its operation.
On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government opposed the court’s suggestion on the constitution of a panel of experts that could assess the feasibility of the resumption of the plant’s operation.
Balancing the national interest does not call for the reopening of the plant, said the state government, arguing that Vedanta was a repeat offender and polluter, which could not be allowed to treat India as a dumping ground for polluting wastes while the valuable resource is being exported.
On February 14, the bench had urged the Tamil Nadu government and the state pollution control board to suggest a “way forward” for restarting the plant while mulling over a committee, comprising experts on pollution control and environment, which it said could submit the report on copper smelter operations, conditions for operations and reparations payable for environmental harm.
But senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for the state government on Wednesday, opposed the court’s suggestion. Vaidyanathan was emphatic that the Sterlite Copper plant did not have to be considered a national asset nor was there any loss to the regional economy owing to the closure of the plant since Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin) is emerging as a new hub for the automobile industry.
“The local employment figures, port handling figures, and economic growth figures show that the closure of Vedanta’s unit has not had any detrimental effect on the local economy of the area. On the other hand, the pollution caused by it is established. The local interest would also require that the unit remain shut,” he argued.
Vaidyanathan further claimed that given the current state of India’s copper industry, Vedanta’s reopening would not augment domestic supply, but would be aimed largely at the foreign market.
“Vedanta imports copper concentrate with about 30% copper. The remaining 70% of the concentrate is waste, including slag and other polluting wastes, which would remain in India forever while the copper itself is exported. India cannot be treated as a dumping ground for polluting wastes while the valuable resource is being exported,” he said.
The state government also pointed out that while Vedanta claimed to have invested about ₹3,700 crore to set up its plant, over the years of its operation, it more than recovered the capital cost incurred by it and earned its capital several times over. “Today, considering the poor state of the environment, the private financial interest, having already been subserved, needs little further consideration,” it said.
The state government emphasised that the Supreme Court ought to give greater weight to the public interest of citizens when weighed against private corporate financial interest.
It further alleged that Vedanta misrepresented the quantity of gypsum and copper slag its plant generated before the green tribunal and the constitutional courts, disentitling itself from any indulgence.
On its part, Vedanta agreed with the court’s suggestion on forming a committee of experts, adding that a retired judge of the Supreme Court could chair the panel, and suggesting that the committee submit its report in a month.
The court will continue hearing the case on Thursday.
Tens of thousands of protesters had taken to the streets of Thoothukudi in May 2018 against a proposed expansion of Sterlite’s 400,000-tonne annual capacity smelter. After the protests turned violent and police opened fire, 13 protesters died.
A week later, the state pollution control board and the state government ordered the plant shut for alleged pollution. The plant, at that time, was producing over 400,000 tonnes of metal ores annually and accounted for 40% of India’s copper output.
