Chennai: With the National Green Tribunal (NGT) allowing the mining major Vedanta to access the administrative unit inside its Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami discussed measures to be taken to ensure that the government initiative on the plant’s closure is not defeated. He chaired a meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday to decide on the next course of action in the wake of NGT ruling.
Sources indicated that the government is keen on ensuring that the copper smelter plant is permanently shut down. On June 4, while justifying the police action on those who unleashed violence during the anti-Sterlite protest on May 22, Mr Palaniswami had informed the TN Assembly that “no government should encourage anti-social elements.”
He asserted that the G.O. on permanently shutting Vedanta group’s Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi is valid and strong enough and that no one can reopen the unit as all vital approvals (to the plant) have been cancelled.
“The plant cannot be opened. It is permanently closed and sealed. All permissions like boiler licence and power connection were cancelled,” he had said.
However, an official release did not mention the decision taken at Sunday’s meeting. It is also not known if the government would challenge NGT’s order in the Supreme Court. NGT had on Thursday granted interim relief to Vedanta Limited to access the administrative section of its Sterlite copper plant, while making it explicitly clear that it would not have access to its production unit. NGT said the district authorities should ensure that the company does not access the plant’s production unit.
Besides Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, Ministers: Dindigul C. Sreenivasan (Forest), K. A. Sengottaiyan (School Education), P. Thangamani (Electricity), S. P. Velumani (Local Administration), C. Ve. Shanmugham (Law), K. P. Anbalagan (Higher Education), M. C. Sampath (Industries), K. C. Karuppannan (Environment), Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Industries Secretary K. Gnanadesikan and Advocate General Vijay Narayan and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) Member-Secretary T. Sekar participated in the meeting.
