The National Green Tribunal had ordered the reopening of Vedanta’s copper smelter plant on December 15. Photo: ReutersNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that had paved way for reopening of Vedanta’s Sterlite Industries Ltd’s copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi. Nariman was hearing an appeal by the State of Tamil Nadu against the December order of the NGT that called for reopening of the plant. The plea, filed through advocate M. Yogesh Kanna, sought that the NGT order be set aside as it was “erroneous” and passed without application of mind towards the evidence furnished by the Tamil Nadu government to show that Vedanta had polluted the ground water. “The tribunal failed to consider the data, document and evidence furnished by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to prove that Vedanta had irreversibly polluted the ground water in and around Thoothukudi district,” the petition said.

Source: Mint January 08, 2019 06:23 UTC