India’s Top Court Clears Way To Reopen Vedanta’s Copper Smelter In Tamil Nadu

• Radhakrishna N S
• 08 January, 2019

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By: Radhakrishna N S

India’s top court, supreme court on Tuesday (8) declined to stay country’s environment court’s ruling setting aside an order from Tamil Nadu state government to shut Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant at Tuticorin.

A top court bench, headed by Justice RF Nariman, sought a response from Vedanta on the state government’s appeal against India’s environment court, National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) ruling to reopen the smelter.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu state government moved to the top court and stated that NGT had erroneously set aside rules, orders, and directions passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in 2018 with regard to the copper smelter.

The state government also added that the tribunal had consequentially asked the state pollution control board to pass new orders of renewal of permission and issue an authorisation to manage dangerous chemicals to the Vedanta Limited.

Last month, the country’s environment court had set aside Tamil Nadu government’s order to shut down the copper smelter permanently, saying it was non-sustainable and unjustified.