Supreme Court Dismisses Vedanta's Plea To Restart Sterlite Copper Smelter

The Supreme Court dismissed on Thursday a plea by Vedanta Ltd. to restart operations at its copper plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

Proceedings before this court were preceded by an evaluation of the high court, which is not shown to suffer from any error that would warrant interference with the ruling of the high court, the top court observed.

It said that the closure of the industry was undoubtedly not a matter of first choice, but the repeated nature of the breaches coupled with the severity of the violations had left neither the statutory authorities nor the high courts with a chance to take any other view unless they were to be oblivious of their duties.

This court has already observed Vedanta's contribution to this country's assets. However, the court has to be mindful of other well-settled principles, such as the principle of sustainable development and the polluter pays principle, the top court said.

"The health and welfare of the residents of the area are of utmost concern, and in the ultimate analysis, the state government is responsible for preserving and protecting their concerns," the court remarked.

Identifying certain areas of concern, the court said that Vedanta had failed to remove copper slag, which was disposed of indiscriminately in 11 areas near the site.

Vedanta had failed to obtain authorisation for the disposal of hazardous waste from the authorities and it had failed to abide by the consent terms that governed the disposal of gypsum. Vedanta was furnished with significant opportunities to take remedial action, the top court observed.

As a result, the court said the 2020 order of the Madras High Court affirming the closure of the plant does not warrant any interference.

During the previous hearings, the top court had considered forming an expert panel to look into whether the plant could be reopened or not.

The court observed that the committee could determine what threshold requirements are needed for the plant to become operational and under what subsequent conditions it could be allowed to operate.

In 2018, the plant was shut down following the Tamil Nadu government's order to seal and permanently close it after 13 people were killed in police firing during a protest against the unit.

The step prompted Vedanta to approach the National Green Tribunal, which allowed it to reopen the copper plant. The tribunal set aside the Tamil Nadu government's order to shut down the plant, saying that it was "unsustainable."

The tribunal's order was struck down by the Supreme Court on an appeal by the state government. The top court, however, allowed Vedanta to approach the Madras High Court to restart the plant.

In 2020, even the high court denied the relief and said the order of the state government bears in mind the public interest involved. Through its appeal before the apex court, Vedanta has been seeking permission to carry out necessary maintenance work at the plant, which has been shut down for the past six years.

At its apex capacity, Sterlite Copper in Thoothukudi district accounted for nearly half of India's copper output.