The Supreme Court today officially declined the Tami Nadu government’s plea against the National Green Tribunal(NGT). The tribunal had earlier granted permission to mining major Vedanta group to access the administrative unit inside the closed Sterlite copper plant in the Tuticorin region of the state.
The NGT had allowed Vedanta to enter the administrative unit claiming that there would be no ‘environmental damage’ would be caused. However, it must also be noted that the tribunal also specifically mentioned that the plant would remain closed and the company would not have access to its production unit and directed the district magistrate to ensure that these specifications are carried out.
These instructions from the NGT faced opposition from the Tamil Nadu government which had ordered the State Pollution Control Board to seal and ‘permanently’ close the mining group’s copper plant on several protests regarding the pollution control. The case was heard by the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in the apex court. However, they have posted the matter for hearing next week after the counsel appearing for the state had mentioned it.
The reason for the protest from the government was because the incidents from the Sterlite factory had hit the headlines in the year 2013 when a leak in the same had led to the death of one person and had also injured several others. After this, the then chief minister, Jayalalithaa had ordered its closure. When the state had reached the highest court demanding for a solution the SC had ordered the company to pay Rs 100 crore as compensation for the polluting the environment. The company had then appealed to the NGT, which overturned the government order. The state then moved the Supreme Court against it and the case is still pending.