A committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to carry out an “independent probe” into the closure of the Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu on Monday said that the closure was not sustainable and “against principles of natural justice”.

“The impugned orders cannot be sustained as it is against the principles of natural justice. No notice or opportunity for hearing was given to the appellant (Vedanta Ltd). The grounds mentioned in the impugned orders are not that grievous to justify permanent closure of the factory” read the committee’s report.

“Other issues raised also do not justify the closure of the factory even if the appellant was found to be violating the conditions or norms or directions” the report added.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed both Vedanta and the Tamil Nadu government to file their responses within a week.

Suggestions made

The committee has also made a series of recommendations to the government and the company, which have to be followed in the event that permission for production is granted to Vedanta.

In August this year, NGT had granted access to the company to the administrative section and specified that production cannot be resumed.

While Vedanta has been asked to monitor groundwater quality around the factory once a month, representatives of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) have been asked to be present during the sampling process.

A recommendation pertaining to the development of a green belt around the factory has also been made.

“The company before disposing copper slag, gypsum or any other waste product will seek previous permission from the TNPCB. The State of Tamil Nadu or TNPCB should collect data from their primary health centres and government hospitals to monitor the various ailments that are being complained of by the inhabitants living in and around the factory premises,” the report stated.

‘Hope for normalcy’

P. Ramnath, Sterlite Copper CEO said, “As a company, we have always been concerned about the well-being of our employees, the villages in and around our plant, our stakeholders and the people of Thoothukudi and shall always remain committed to the same. We hope that the verdict will now be given soon for life to come back to normal for the 25,000 families impacted by the closure.”

Following Vedanta’s plea challenging the State government’s closure of the Sterlite unit, the NGT in August had constituted the “independent body” to consider the matter.

The green tribunal had appointed former Meghalaya Chief Justice Tarun Agarwal as head of the committee. Representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change were also asked to be a part of the committee.