This plant has been operational since May this year, under special permission from the Tamil Nadu government.
Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Smelter in Tuticorin has said that it has dispatched 1000 tons of liquid medical oxygen to 23 districts of Tamil Nadu to aid the battle against COVID-19. This plant has been operational since May this year, under special permission from the Tamil Nadu government. This is in addition to the supply of 712 oxygen gas cylinders to meet the needs of Covid patients and hospitals.
According to the company, they have provided the critical resource to over 23 districts across Tamil Nadu and have surpassed a cumulative supply of 1006 as on Monday. The company also listed out that districts that spanned the southern and western region of the state, to which the supplies had been offered.
In late April, the once-shuttered Vedanta Sterlite Copper Smelter was permitted to function by the Tamil Nadu Government, for the production of medical oxygen alone. With the consensus of major political parties in the State, Sterlite had been permitted to service and operate their Oxygen plant for 4 months, using electricity provided by the State Government. The parties also added that based on the Covid-19 situation and the requirement of oxygen, this time period may be extended.
This decision to permit the plant’s operation comes with several conditions - no other unit within the plant will be allowed to operate, electricity will be suspended after the stipulated period and Copper or other products cannot be manufactured during these four months. In addition, Sterlite will not be permitted to use its power generation unit.
In terms of security arrangements and confidence building among the local population, the Government had said that a team under the leadership of the District collector and Police officials, along with Government experts in oxygen manufacturing, local people, anti-Sterlite protestors, NGOs, and environmental experts will be deciding and monitoring oxygen production at the plant.
At the start of the medical oxygen crisis is India, it was Sterlite which made an offer in the Supreme Court to provide for free nearly 1000MT oxygen from the Tuticorin plant. However, the State Government had then objected to it, much to the chagrin of the Chief justice who pointed out the dire situation of oxygen shortage in parts of the country.
The 4,00,000 tonne per annum Sterlite copper smelter plant has been operating in Tuticorin for over 25 years with a cumulative investment of about Rs 3,000 crore. However, from the very start, the Sterlite copper smelter plant has been facing protests from the local people who allege that it pollutes the environment and affects their life.
The state government ordered the closure of the copper smelter plant in 2018, following a violent protest that led to the death of 13 persons in police firing. The Supreme Court is hearing the an appeal filed by the company against the Madras High Court's refusal to reopen the plant.
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