Vedanta Sterlite plant: Supreme Court sets aside NGT order allowing its reopening
Sterlite-plant
The Supreme Court on Monday setaside the December 15 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) allowing the reopening of the Vedanta-ownedSterlite plant in Tamil Nadu'sTuticorin.
The court told Vedanta and the Tamil Nadu government that they could take the issue up with the Madras High Court.
A bench headed by Justice RF Nariman said the NGT did not have the jurisdiction to order the reopening of the plant.
The court was hearing a plea by Vedanta group seeking a direction to Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to implement the NGT order which had set aside the government's decision to close the plant.
Meanwhile, theSupreme Court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation toconduct a fair and impartial investigation into the police firing that killed 13 persons.
OnDecember 15, the NGT had set aside the Tamil Nadu government's order for closure of mining company Vedanta Ltd’s Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin saying it was “non-sustainable" and “unjustified".
The Tamil Nadu government had, on May 28, ordered the state pollution control board to seal and “permanently" close the mining group’s copper plant following violent protests over pollution concerns.
At least 13 people were killed and several injured on May 22 last year when police opened fire on a large crowd of people protesting against the plant due to theenvironmental pollution allegedly caused by the plant.
(With inputs from agencies)