“We are clear that we won’t allow you to restart (operations) now,” SC said.
The proposed expert committee could look into any compensation, if due, for non-compliance. However, the Tamil Nadu government and others said that certain things cannot be compensated. They further alleged that Vedanta has persistently violated the High Court’s orders.
The CJI observed that India should not lose an asset but at the same time, Vedanta should be put under terms.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing the case.
“Which company can do business if the state government is not on board? The health of the people has to be protected, but at the same time the facility should not be lost either,” CJI Chandrachud said during deliberations.It may be noted that the plant has remained shut since mid-2018 when activists and local groups protested its functioning. On May 22, 2018, a large crowd protesting pollution from the copper smelting unit faced police gunfire, resulting in at least 13 deaths and many injuries. Responding to the violent protests over pollution concerns, the Tamil Nadu government, on May 28, 2018, asked the state pollution control board to permanently shut down the mining group’s plant.Before it was closed, the copper unit accounted for over one-third of India’s copper output.
The SC in May 2023 had asked the state government to take ‘appropriate decisions’ following its April 10 order in which it had allowed Vedanta to carry out upkeep activities in its Sterlite Tuticorin copper unit under the supervision of a monitoring committee.
Through its April order, the apex court allowed the evacuation of remaining gypsum at the plant.
Vedanta group was also allowed to carry out SLF Leachate Collection Sump Pump Operations every day to avoid any environmental degradation, undertake the maintenance of the green belt and clearing of the wild bushes and dried trees.
The SC noted that the district collector had not recommended activities like undertaking a civil and structural safety integrity assessment study in the plant premises, removal and transportation of spares and equipment and evacuation of in-process reverts and other raw materials lying idle.
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