Restarting Sterlite copper plant to cost at least Rs 200 crore

Vedanta, backed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, stopped operations at the smelter on May 28, 2018, after the Tamil Nadu Government ordered its closure.
Vedanta's Sterlite Industries Ltd's copper plant in Tuticorin (File | Reuters)
Vedanta's Sterlite Industries Ltd's copper plant in Tuticorin (File | Reuters)

NEW DELHI: Despite a favourable verdict for Sterlite Copper by the Supreme Court, allowing reopening of the Tuticorin plant, the fate of the copper complex now hangs in the balance with inordinate delays in hearing of appeals at the state level. Each day of delay is estimated to cost the management Rs 5 crore, in addition to the Rs 200 crore it would need to shell out for maintenance and repair to restart the plant.

“While our priority is to conclude the hearing and then wait for the judgement from the High Court, we are apprehensive over our assets inside the smelter complex in the absence of any maintenance work,” Pankaj Kumar, CEO, Sterlite Copper, said.

The management of the company has written to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board seeking permission to enter the facility for maintenance checks, but the state government has refused their repeated requests and the courts too have not acceded so far.

“Being a metallurgical plant, regular maintenance is required to keep the assets healthy, in the absence of which many of the load-bearing structures have got corroded, putting the assets at risk and posing a serious safety hazard,” the management said in the letter requesting the Board to allow them access to the plant to conduct maintenance till the consent to operate was issued.

A division bench comprising Justices TS Sivagnanam and Bhavani Subbaroyan said the case could be taken up in the first week of December, but the management is yet to receive an official intimation. “Upon clearance, we’ll need two months to start production,” Kumar said.

Vedanta, backed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, stopped operations at the smelter on May 28, 2018, after the Tamil Nadu Government ordered its closure, endorsing the state pollution control board’s view that it was causing pollution in the district. To make matters worse, the prolonged closure of the plant has led to a steady fall in India’s copper production. 

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