Sterlite Industries was allowed by both the UPA and NDA governments to construct the copper smelter in Tuticorin without carrying out the mandated public hearing process.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the plant was first given the green signal by the environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee in 2008, when the United Progressive Alliance was in power.

The 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Rules stipulate that industrial projects under certain categories must have a public hearing before being granted clearance for operations.

“All Category ‘A’ and Category B1 projects or activities shall undertake public consultation, except… all projects or activities located within industrial estates or parks.”

Copper smelter plants fall under category A. However, Sterlite Industries sought for an exemption to this rule in 2008, stating that the smelter was located within an industrial park.

According to the report, the industrial park in question was not granted environmental clearance as the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) industrial park was developed before the notification of the Environmental Impact Assessment rules.

As the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment rules do not cover industrial parks which did not receive environmental clearance, officials quoted in the report say that this was the grey area where Sterlite brought forward its plea.

Despite getting a clearance in 2008, the project still did not take off for five years as the environmental clearance process was challenged in court. The issue was clarified by the environment ministry in 2014 when the National Democratic Alliance took over.

The Ministry stated in a memorandum in December 2014 that an exemption of projects from public consultation “is available to the projects or activities or units located in industrial estates or parks, which were notified prior to September 14, 2006, i.e EIA notification coming into force”.

The memorandum was struck by the National Green Tribunal in 2016, but not before Sterlite secured a five-year extension on its environmental clearance for its expansion project.