NGT directed that the representative of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) should be nominated to a joint committee under the District Collector, that is inspecting the Sterlite plant site to check for disposal of any hazardous material.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday allowed Vedanta permission to access the administrative section at its Sterlite copper smelter plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, but turned down its request to independently maintain the plant for 30 days under Tribunal’s observation.
It also ordered the Tamil Nadu government to submit in ten days a scientific analysis of the baseline pollution data at the SIPCOT Industrial area in Tuticorin and posted the matter for next hearing on August 20.
Besides, NGT directed that the representative of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) should be nominated to a joint committee under the District Collector, that is inspecting the Sterlite plant site to check for disposal of any hazardous material.
A four-member bench, headed by NGT chairperson Justice A.K.Goel, was hearing Vedanta’s on-going plea challenging Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) closure order of its copper smelter unit in Tuticorin.
The TN government had issued a closure order on May 28 on grounds of environmental pollution.
The Tribunal bench heard both parties, especially Vedanta, at length on Thursday. Right at the start of the hearing, Tamil Nadu government suffered a setback as the bench refused to hear their contentions on the maintainability of Vedanta’s plea.
Senior advocate C.Aryama Sundaram, appearing for Vedanta, argued that over the years, TNPCB had not renewed consent to operate despite repeated applications. But, Rakesh Dwivedi , senior advocate appearing for TNPCB, said that there were defects in the operation of the plant and that was the ground for refusing consent to operate in the past. Dwivedi sought to draw the attention of the bench towards the reasons for not renewing the plant’s consent to operate.
He presented photographs before the bench that and claimed that the company was dumping copper slag, a byproduct of copper production, along the Uppar river and blocking its channel too. He added that the groundwater around the plant was contaminated with heavy metals.
Data Sought
The bench though, sought scientific data from TNPCB to back its claims that the pollution was caused by Vedanta. TNPCB said that since it did not have baseline data with them, they would submit it to the green court in the next hearing.
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