Construction materials being cleared from Sterlite premises in Thoothukudi

MADURAI: After getting the nod from the State government, the process of clearing construction material and equipment from the site of the Sterlite unit in Thoothukudi proposed for expansion began on Thursday.

A few weeks ago, the administration of the plant sought permission from the state government to remove such material from the expansion unit in SIPCOT and the government approved in principle.

Recently, a written order was issued by the District Administration to clear the construction material from the site. It has to be done within a particular time frame as the government instructed to clear the material within eighty days.

About 150 to 200 truckloads of material’s left on the site and such quantities of material were said to be taken to its copper refinery plant in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, sources said.

A team led by the Thoothukudi Sub Collector got access to the site and inspected the proceedings, sources said.

The copper smelter plant remains closed since May 28, 2018, after the anti-Sterlite rally on May 22 of the same year turned violent.

During the closure of the plant, more than fourteen types of hazardous waste such as sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, petroleum gas, high-speed diesel, furnace oil, liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen and other chemical wastes were removed from the plant.

The Supreme Court in April 2023 gave its nod to the state government to carry out to dispose of the wastes from the smelter plant and also to execute the task of managing the green cover.

As per the directive of the Supreme Court, the District Administration formally constituted the Local management committee comprising nine members to oversee the removal of industrial wastes from the plant and implemented the orders accordingly, sources said.