Chennai: The Madras High Court today upheld a decision by the Tamilnadu government to close Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi.
“The order to close Sterlite plant will continue,” said the court. The court had reserved judgment on 8 January this year. The Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board had rejected the plantās application for renewal of consent to operate in 2018 on grounds that it had violated environmental laws.
The State government subsequently issued a closure order on 28 May, 2018, against the plant, days after a protest against Sterlite ended violently with police opening fire on protesters, killing 13 people.
Vedanta has moved legal pleas seeking permission to reopen the plant. A plea against the Stateās action before the National Green Tribunal ended in victory for Vedanta in December 2018, with the green tribunal finding in favour of the plant.
Alleging knee-jerk reaction by the state government, Vedanta denied it was polluting the environment and claimed hazardous wastes identified by the Pollution Control Board have already been delisted.
The State government has said the deaths in police firing were not the only reason why the plant was shut down. It said the Sterlite plant was a big threat to the environment and ecology, and pollutants released by Sterlite were much higher than other companies in the area.