NGT asks Tamil Nadu to allow reopening of controversial Sterlite Copper facility

File photo of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Thoothukudi | Representational image | PTI

Sterlite Copper smelter in Tuticorin was shut in May after violent protests that ended in killing of 13 people in police firing.

Mumbai: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Saturday paved the way for the reopening of Sterlite Copper in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), seven months after the controversial copper smelter was shut over environmental concerns following violent protests that ended in the killing of 13 people in police firing.

The NGT directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to pass a fresh order allowing Sterlite Copper to reopen and handle hazardous substances within three weeks, while asking the company to take certain steps on “precautionary principle” in the larger interest of safeguarding the environment.

“In the present case, the TNPCB has adopted hyper technical approach unmindful of object of law,” the NGT order said. “So long as establishment is complying with the Pollution Control norms and is willing to take further precautionary steps, the Pollution Control Boards cannot arbitrarily close such establishments on hyper technicalities, as has been done in the present case. We expect TNPCB to have more focused and professional approach in performing its regulatory functions.”

The unit has been shut since April. The NGT said none of the five reasons that the  TNPCB cited while denying Sterlite’s request to renew the consent to operate its existing plant are sustainable. None of the reasons referred to any emissions violations.

The NGT has also directed Sterlite to spend Rs 100 crore over three years for the welfare of residents in the area, following a suggestion by the company’s counsel.

“During the hearing, learned Senior Counsel for the appellant made the statement that the appellant is willing to spend further amount of Rs. 100 Crores for welfare activities for the inhabitants of the area as a goodwill measure. The amount may be spent on projects like water supply, hospital and health services and skill development in the area. We take the statement on record and in view of the said statement, we direct the Appellant Unit to spend the amount of Rs. 100 Crores within a period of three year for welfare of the inhabitants in the area (sic),” the tribunal said.

Conditions laid down by NGT for Sterlite 

The NGT has directed Sterlite Copper to create a dedicated interactive website with a participatory public forum where people can lodge any environment-related grievance, which the company should address in a time-bound manner. The website should be heavily publicised and linked to the websites of the district administration and the pollution control board.

With one of the main complaints of the residents around the copper smelter being ground water pollution due to the unit, the NGT has asked Sterlite Copper to regularly monitor ground water quality and upload the data on the website in a comprehensible manner.

“Failure of timely analysis and uploading of the same shall result in appellant unit paying an environmental compensation at the rate of Rs. 10 Lakhs for every default with the District Legal Services which shall maintain a separate account for the same and supervise its spending in matters like environmental education and awareness,” the tribunal said.

Further, the company is required to deposit Rs 2.5 crore as a token amount for inappropriately handling 3.5 million tonnes of copper slag, and prepare an action plan for the same.

The NGT has also asked the company along with the district administration to prepare offsite and onsite emergency plans and have regular drills for any environment-related crisis.

Sterlite’s checkered past in Tuticorin

Sterlite’s copper smelter in Tuticorin, which first got a consent to operate in 1996, has always been at loggerheads with the local residents.

Locals have claimed that the unit does not follow environment norms, that there have been adverse incidents, their groundwater and air is getting polluted, and the copper smelter has led to a surge in respiratory diseases and cancer cases.

In 1998, the Madras High Court had even ordered the immediate closure of the plant based on a report by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). It said the plant was located within 14 km of the Gulf of Mannar, an ecologically sensitive region, despite a government stipulation setting a minimum distance of 25 km, and highlighted groundwater pollution. The order was, however, stayed later and the case dragged on.

In 2010, the Madras High Court, once again, ordered the plant’s closure, saying it had failed to comply with environmental norms, but the apex court stayed it.

In 2013, the Supreme Court levied a Rs 100 crore penalty on Sterlite for environmental pollution from 1997 to 2012 and for having operated the plant without valid TNPCB permissions for a certain period but allowed the unit to continue operation. The court cited NEERI reports of 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005 that sought to show the plant did throw up emissions and effluents that did not conform to TNPCB norms.

The same year, the TNPCB issued closure orders to the plant following allegations of a gas leak. However, the National Green Tribunal set the order aside.

The most recent protests earlier this year were sparked by opposition to a second phase of the copper smelter, alleging that the existing unit itself was a polluting killer.