SC to hear appeal against Sterlite reopening on Jan 8

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said that the case will be heard next week. Senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for Vedanta, said that Tamil Nadu has filed an appeal against the NGT order so that the case be heard urgently as they are facing problems with storage of sulphuric acid in the plant.

Tamil Nadu had moved the apex court on Wednesday against the NGT verdict that set aside the state government’s order to close the plant at Thoothukudi.

The plea, filed through advocate M Yogesh Kanna, had said that the NGT has “erroneously” set aside various orders passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) last year with regard to the Sterlite plant. It had said that the tribunal had consequentially directed the TNPCB to pass fresh orders of renewal of consent and issue authorisation to handle hazardous substances to the Vedanta Limited.

“The final impugned judgment and order dated December 15, 2018 is liable to be set aside by this Court as the Tribunal failed to consider the data, document and evidence furnished by TNPCB to prove that the respondent no 1 (Vedanta) herein had irreversibly polluted the ground water in and around Thoothukudi District,” the petition had said while seeking a stay on the NGT verdict. It had held that non furnishing of ground water analysis report was a “technical breach and was trivial in nature”, the plea said.

“The said finding of the Tribunal shows non-application of mind as the appellants herein have furnished sufficient evidence to show that the respondent no 1 (TN and others) had polluted the ground water and therefore the respondent herein had not furnished the ground water analysis report,” it had added.