CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday informed the Madras High Court that the right to carry out any profession or business envisaged under the Constitution applies only to individuals and not for corporates like Vedanta.
The state made the submissions on Tuesday for the plea moved by Vedanta challenging the government order directing closure of its unit.
Senior counsel K V Viswanathan made the submissions on behalf of the state government justifying its decision to close Sterlite copper smelter plant in Tuticorin.
Denying the allegations that the closure order was a reaction to the anti-Sterlite protest, which resulted in the death of 13 persons, the counsel said that the protests might be one among the reasons for closure but it was not the only the reason.
The counsel also submitted that the state has full authority and powers to shut down a factory when it causes a serious threat to the environment and ecology. Though there were many other industries in the SIPCOT area where Sterlite is located, the pollution caused by Sterlite is much higher than others, the senior counsel said.
Countering the argument of Vedanta that it has a fundamental right under the Constitution to carry out any profession or business, the government said that such right is available only to the individuals and not to corporate companies like Vedanta.
The state government has all the powers to close a unit on pollution grounds and similarly Sterlite has been shut down for causing serious pollution to water resources in the area, besides causing damage to the environment, the counsel said.
Recording the submissions, a special bench of Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Bhavani Subbaroyan adjourned the hearing to August 7.