THOOTHUKUDI: It's been two years since Vedanta Resources-owned Sterlite Copper, a leading copper manufacturer, was closed permanently by the State government after 13 persons were killed in the police firing at a protest rally against the expansion of the unit.
Following a Government Order, the copper smelter was closed permanently on May 28, 2018.
Classified as a red category, the smelter premises had been maintained by the district administration since its closure. Collector Sandeep Nanduri said that all the 14 varieties of chemicals were evacuated from the facility.
Now, a legal battle is going on between the State government and the management of the copper smelter, and sources said that the closure of the plant, worth Rs 3000 crore, has been incurring a loss for six consecutive quarters.
In an affidavit submitted to the Madras High Court on March 22, 2019, the manufacturer had claimed that damages to the tune of Rs 100 crore were caused due to the negligence in maintaining the premises by the district authorities.
Sterlite Copper, established in 1996 manufacture refined copper, phosphoric acid, and by-products such as sulphuric acid, silicic acid, gypsum, and copper slag. The company had 4,397 employees including 3534 contract employees and 863 permanent employees. Of the total employees, 3068 (70 per cent) are from Tamil Nadu.
Industrialists said that the closure of the 4 lakh-tonne capacity copper smelter in Thoothukudi that contributed 40 per cent of the copper produced in the country had paved way for a cut down in the country's net production by 46.1 per cent during the financial year 2019.
Another industrialist, who preferred anonymity, said that the drastic fall in production turned India, a net exporter cathode until 2018, into an importer after 18 years. "Our country is now spending Rs 14000 crore of forex to import copper which would have otherwise been produced domestically", he pointed out, citing analytical studies.
A senior official of the Sterlite Copper said that the damages would be at least to the tune of `100 crore so far, and it has been noted in an affidavit submitted to the High Court.
The closure of the copper smelter plant also caused a cascading effect on the supply chain of chemicals, and the allied industries that function using products and by-products of Sterlite Copper. According to a data, Sterlite Copper was supplying copper to 350 companies, sulphuric acid to 27 companies, phosphoric acid to four companies, Gypsum slag to 40 companies including 30 cement factories. All these downstream industries had employed approximately 1 lakh employees.
The copper manufacturer claimed that they supply copper to 50 per cent of domestic requirements of the wire winding industry, whereas it had 95 per cent of market share on supplying sulphuric acid to detergent and other chemical factories, and had cent per cent market share on supplying Phosphoric acid in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said that logistics and stevedoring have been affected badly due to the closure of the plant.
A leader of Tipper Lorry Owners Association said a number of owners of tipper lorries are unable to repay the loan dues after the closure of the plant, and subsequently, the vehicles were seized by the lenders.
To the VOC Port, Sterlite had contributed 2.8 million tonne in 2015-16, 2.7 million tonnes in 2016-17, and 2.5 million tonnes in 2017-18, helping the port to achieve 36.8 MT, 38.5 MT and 36.6 MT respectively. "The cargo handling at the VOC port dropped to 34.34 million tonnes in the subsequent 2018-19, however, it re-emerged with 36.08 million tonnes in 2019-20," he said.
A senior executive of the company in an email communication said that the company has been witnessing a daily loss of Rs 5 crore.
"Besides machinery are rusting. Sterlite Copper contributed up to Rs 635 crore annually to the economy of Thoothukudi, which has practically become nil now," he added.
An aggrieved employee said that all there hopes are now resting on the judiciary. "We are fully confident that truth will triumph after all," he added.