CHENNAI: Vedanta Limited has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking nod for a renewed green copper facility in Thoothukudi, where its Sterlite Copper smelting plant was closed down by the state government in 2018 over complaints of pollution and other related health issues.
The company stated that it submitted representations to the authorities concerned from June to November this year requesting to consider its proposal for establishing a renewed green copper facility but no action was taken.
It prayed for the court to issue directions to the government authorities to consider its representations on merits after providing an opportunity to submit further details and a personal hearing in a time bound manner as may be fixed by the court.
Further, it requested the court to constitute a multi-disciplinary committee of experts comprising officials from departments including the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Central Pollution Control Board, as well as independent experts to submit a report on the viability of the proposal for establishment of the green copper facility.
The petition was heard by the first bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan on Thursday. The government and the petitioner’s counsels informed the court that a petition seeking safe removal of the copper slag from the Sterlite copper plant and its surrounding has been pending. Subsequently, the bench directed the Registry to tag both the petitions and adjourned the hearing by four weeks.