Supreme Court stays National Green Tribunal order, shuts down Sterlite copper plant

The Supreme Court on Monday closed down the Vedanta-Sterlite copper smelter plant at Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi by setting aside an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which gave conditional nod for the plant to begin operations on December 15, 2018.

A bench of Justices RF Nariman and Navin Sinha held that the petition filed by Vedanta-Sterlite was not maintainable and directed the company to approach the Madras High Court for seeking relief. Meanwhile, the court restored the position that existed prior to the NGT order by ordering the unit to be shut as per the order passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on April 9, 2018.

The court, however, did not address the ban on merits and left it to the HC to consider. But the bench observed that since the plant was shut down for a long period and the company is exporting the product, the company will be at liberty to seek expeditious hearing of the case from the Chief Justice of the Madras HC.

The plant is situated at the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) Industrial Complex at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The company initially obtained a no-objection certificate from TNPCB for producing blister copper and sulphuric acid in August 1994. The environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was also followed. In January 1997, the company started production. Two years later, the company further sought TNPCB permission to produce phosphoric acid and hydrofluorosilicic acid. In 2005, the TNPCB gave conditional consent.

Meanwhile, the environmental clearance was quashed by the Madras High Court in September 2010. In addition, TNPCB reconsidered its decision as local residents began to complain of suffocation and breathing problems. The board then directed closure of the unit citing violation of the Air Act on March 29, 2013.

The NGT however stayed the closure order on May 31, 2013. After this, with the help of several interim orders, the plant remained operational.

Protests gathered steam as locals demanded closure of the unit. The TNPCB and state government raised the issue of maintainability of Vedanta's petition before NGT. Their objection was considered and rejected by the tribunal.

On the aspect of whether the unit must function, the NGT relied on a report by an expert committee headed by former judge, Justice Tarun Agarwala and ordered opening of the unit. This order of December 15 last was upset by SC on Monday.

BRIEF TIMELINE

• April 9, 2018: The TNPCB order called for a closure of the plant.
   
• December 15, 2018: The NGT gave a conditional nod for the plant to begin operations.
   
• February 18, 2019: The SC held that the petition filed by Vedanta was not maintainable and ordered for the plant to be shut.