Mining firm Vedanta on Wednesday moved the Madras high court seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu government to constitute an expert panel to examine the feasibility of permitting the proposed green copper project in Thoothukudi district.
The development comes days after the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) rejected the firm’s application to operate the facility at the site of the board’s defunct Sterlite plant.
According to Vedanta’s petition, the company had approached the TNPCB on the matter, however, the state board rejected its application on January 27 this year.
The high court has sought Tamil Nadu’s response by February 26, on whether it will consider constituting an expert committee to examine the feasibility of permitting the proposed green copper project.
The Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi that began operations in 1997, faced widespread protests from local residents over serious concerns about air and groundwater pollution and its impact on public health. In May 2018, police firing on demonstrators opposing the plant’s proposed expansion left 13 people dead, sparking nationwide outrage. The Tamil Nadu government subsequently ordered the unit’s permanent closure. The State’s decision was later upheld by the courts and the plant has remained shut ever since.
Vedanta now contends that the closure has increased India’s reliance on copper imports and argues that its proposed “green copper” facility offers an environmentally compliant alternative at the same site.
{{/usCountry}}Vedanta now contends that the closure has increased India’s reliance on copper imports and argues that its proposed “green copper” facility offers an environmentally compliant alternative at the same site.
{{/usCountry}}It told the court that its proposed facility will be based on “fundamentally different and distinct” technologies from those used in the earlier smelting operations and that the new plant will adopt environmentally superior processes aimed at “reducing emissions, hazardous waste and slag generation.”
Senior counsel Satish Parasaran, who appeared for Vedanta, argued that TNPCB had rejected Vedanta’s application arbitrarily, without prior notice or affording the company an opportunity to be heard. Parasaran argued for an expert committee, comprising representatives of the State and union governments to examine the project.
Vedanta has also sought interim permission to access 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 giving it a new name of “Green Copper.” He argued that the company should have pursued a statutory appeal against the TNPCB’s order rather than invoking the writ jurisdiction of the high court.
The AAG added that environmental protection must take precedence over the economic considerations highlighted by the company.