RTI reveals gross under-utilisation of Rs 100 crore fine deposited by Sterlite

The Thoothukudi administration has spent less than Rs 7 crore out of the Rs 100 crores deposited by Sterlite as penalty imposed by the Supreme Court in April 2013, revealed RTI findings by activist Nityanand Jayaraman. The deposit has grown to Rs 141 crores now. However, the district administration has sanctioned 33 projects, out of which only 14 have been completed.

While slapping the fine on Sterlite, the Supreme Court had directed that the compensation of Rs 100 crore, levied for polluting the environment and operating the plant without consent, should be deposited by the Thoothukudi Collector in a fixed deposit. 

The court also ordered, “The interest should be spent for improving the environment, including water and soil, of the vicinity of the plant after consultation with TNPCB and approval of the Secretary, Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu.”

However, a look at the projects revealed that none of it has been adhered to the directions of the court. Instead, the funds were channelled towards implementation of rainwater harvesting structures, construction of wards at government-run hospitals in the region, check dams, protective walls, ground water recharging units, ultrasound scan machines and even sanctioned the construction of parks, one of it at the Collectorate campus. There was an attempt towards planting 2,000 trees in 30 villages around the copper smelter but beyond that, most of the spending had little to do with improvement of the environment – a gross violation of the apex court’s orders.

The RTI data also revealed that projects undertaken using the penalty amount appeared to have been projected as part of Sterlite Copper’s CSR. “For instance, a sum of Rs 30 lakh was sanctioned and Rs 27 lakh spent on “construction and formation of park at Collectorate Campus, Thoothukudi. Until protestors defaced it in March 2018, the park sported several sign-boards advertising Sterlite Copper,” said Nityanand.

Slamming the district administration for the gross violations, Nityanand said, “The Collector hasn’t worked for a living! He has not used the money for what it was meant for. The interest amount is substantial enough to conduct high quality, independent studies on health and environment, which this district administration has failed to do so. Instead, they have wasted this money on meaningless projects.”

The activist also pointed out that in the days to come, a local area environment monitoring committee, comprising eminent citizens of Thoothukudi, should be convened to guide and supervise the expenditure of the interest amount accruing from this account.