On Saturday, the National Green Tribunal set aside a Tamil Nadu government order closing Vedanta Ltd’s Sterlite unit in Thoothukudi. The order had been issued in the aftermath of violence in the coastal town that marred the 100th day of a struggle against the plant. On May 22, thousands of protesters in Thoothukudi moved to besiege the district collectorate. As protesters allegedly went on a rampage, police opened fire. Thirteen people were killed, including women and at least one minor. Several others were wounded in violence over the next two days.
The decades-long anti-Sterlite campaign had gained momentum this year amid rumours that the plant was set to expand. The campaigners believed Sterlite was polluting the town and its expansion would only cause more harm. The company has long claimed that these views have no scientific basis. However, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board claimed to have found certain violations and rejected Sterlite’s application for renewal of Consent to Operate. The state government relied on the board’s findings to issue a government order (GO) closing the plant permanently. But the NGT thought otherwise, terming the board’s approach hyper-technical. The state now plans to appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. And campaigners in Thoothukudi are gearing up for a fresh struggle.
This is not the only high-profile case the TN government will be appealing before the SC in recent times. In what can only be termed a hectic month for the government, it went from battling Cyclone Gaja, which made landfall on November 16-17, evacuating 82,000 people along the state’s coast, to struggling to repair and restore the power infrastructure that was levelled in the delta districts. A month after the cyclone, some rural pockets still don’t have electricity, despite thousands of staff working day and night, at great personal risk and sacrifice. Just as the government got its bearings in dealing with the aftermath of the cyclone, Karnataka was given the green light to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a dam it proposed to build on the Cauvery at Mekedatu. This is a touchy subject for TN that has long-running feuds over water with Karnataka, Kerala and the Telugu states. The state went to the SC demanding a stay on the permission for a DPR, but the court rejected it.
DMK chief M K Stalin, who initially praised the government’s response to Gaja, subsequently charged it with neglect when it came to relief. For its part, the government was responsive, with ministers camping in the affected districts for weeks, and swiftly approaching the courts when needed. However, it is yet to shake off the perception that it could have done more.
Meanwhile, Stalin looks like he may finally come into his own after decades in the shadow of his illustrious father, late party chief M Karunanidhi. On Sunday, the DMK hosted the unveiling of Karunanidhi’s statue by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Stalin deftly placed the DMK at the heart of the anti-BJP national alliance ahead of the 2019 polls, cementing his ties with both Sonia and son Rahul Gandhi, the Congress chief, by officially proposing Rahul as prime ministerial face to take on the ‘fascist’ NDA. Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats and Puducherry one. It is this arithmetic that has allowed Dravidian parties to play key roles at the Centre over the years. Stalin is counting on a sweep in 2019 to make himself kingmaker.
However, he ought pay heed to discontent within his own party. Stalin’s style of leadership is considered authoritarian, which could hurt the DMK’s chances in the upcoming bypolls to 20 Assembly seats.
That will be his first real opportunity to prove himself, especially after the embarrassing loss to AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran in the RK Nagar bypoll last year. While the DMK poached key Karur leader V Senthil Balaji from Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, how much it will benefit the DMK and Stalin remains to be seen.
Ranjitha Gunasekaran
Assistant Resident Editor
ranjitha@newindianexpress.com