Proper trade-off between them is a must

The decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to set aside the orders passed by the Tamil Nadu government to shut down the Thoothukudi Sterlite plant is significant, contextually and otherwise.

The NGT order comes a month ahead of the much-touted global investors’ meet that the State is hosting. The order should bring a sense of relief to the industry.

At the same time, green activists will feel disappointed. Caught between these mixed view points is the State government that is ostensibly seeking to position itself as a fair umpire. Will the NGT order see the re-start of the Sterlite unit? What passed one’s comprehension was how the unit — if at all it is an environment pollutant — was allowed to come up in the first place.

Successive governments were equally responsible for getting the project into Tamil Nadu and letting it to run for over two decades. The pollution angle is not a new discovery but was there even at the time of inception of the plant. In recent months, events have conspired to paint Sterlite black. Sterlite too cannot wish away the fact it has failed to sufficiently on-board the community around the unit.

Industries are a sine qua non for development. At the same time, clean environment is a pre-requisite for healthy living. Given the size of our population, the country needs to foster industrialisation even while keeping the environment clean. What is required is a responsible trade-off between them. This can come about with a combination of properly laid out rules and proactive caring for society.

Industrialist Harsh Goenka puts it succinctly in his tweet. “... An activist to me is not the one who says the river is dirty but the one who cleans the river. For Tamil Nadu to prosper, more investments are needed. The Sterlite copper plant reopening ordered by NGT is welcome news.”