Chennai: Reacting to Madras High Court’s order rejecting a plea from mining giant Vedanta for allowing reopening of its Sterlite copper unit in Thoothukudi, which has been closed since May 2018 over pollution concerns, Sterlite Copper CEO Pankaj Kumar said the company would pursue all legal remedies.
Alleging that certain forces were conspiring to stifle the country’s ability to be an independent copper manufacturer, Kumar, in a statement, termed the court verdict as disheartening and an utter shock to its employees and thousands of small business.
“It is also disheartening to note that at a time when our Nation is forced to depend on hostile neighbours for copper imports, certain forces are conspiring to stifle our Nation’s ability to be an independent copper manufacturer”, he said.
Stating that at no point in its operations any concerns of pollution were raised by appropriate authorities, he said, “We will therefore be pursuing all available legal remedies in the pursuit of justice in the coming days”.
“The verdict comes as an utter shock to the employees of Sterlite Copper and the thousands of small businesses, entrepreneurs and community members who are dependent on our continued operations,” Kumar said.
“We firmly believe in the safe and environmentally sound nature of our operations,” he added.