New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the appeal by Vedanta against the closure of its copper smelting plant, since 2018, in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi, over alleged violation of environmental norms and protests of the local population against its operation.
The apex court stressed that the court has to be mindful of well settled principles, including the principles of sustainable development, the polluter pays principle and public trust doctrine.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said: “We have heard these proceedings for several days and after careful evaluation of factual and legal material, we have come to the conclusion that the special leave petition by the industrial unit does not warrant interference….the special leave petition stand dismissed….”
The bench said the health and welfare of the residents of the area is again a matter of utmost concern and in the ultimate analysis, the state government is responsible for preserving and protecting their concerns.
The apex court said the closure of industry undoubtedly not a matter of first choice and added the repeated nature of breaches, coupled with the severity of the violations would in this analysis have left neither the statutory authorities nor the high court to take any other view unless they were to be oblivious of their duty.
The bench said that it is conscious of the fact that the unit has been contributing to the productive assets of the nation and providing employment and revenue in the area. “Equally, while these aspects have undoubted relevance, the court has to be mindful of other well settled principles, including the principles of sustainable development, the polluter pays principles and public trust doctrine”, said the bench.
The apex court also dismisses the appeals filed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board challenging the observations made by the Madras High Court against it regarding its inaction.
The bench said the civil appeal by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board which is aggrieved by the observations in the judgement of the high court, “we are of view that high court was justified in making observations in regard to lack of alacrity of pollution control board in discharging its duties”. Senior advocates C S Vaidyanathan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for Tamil Nadu government and senior advocate represented Vedanta before the apex court.
In 2018, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) ordered the closure of the controversial Sterlite Plant after massive protests by locals, social and environmental activists who alleged that the facility was causing widespread and severe pollution, leading to the spread of serious diseases among locals. The decision of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board was later upheld by the Madras High Court in August 2020.
Read More
- 'Aren’t You Precipitating Whole Issue': SC to Tamil Nadu Govt on Pollution by Vedanta Plant
- ‘No bar on copper smelter, committee can set conditions for restarting Vedanta plant’, SC to TN govt
