National Green Tribunal favouring Vedanta: Activist
Expressing discontent over the inspection and public hearing held in Thoothukudi on the Sterlite issue by an expert committee formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Thamil Manthan, an activist has claimed that the panel was favouring the company.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-10-03 22:32 GMT
Madurai
A three-member committee, led by former Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Tarun Agarwal, inspected the plant last month and interacted with villagers living near the unit, before conducting the public hearing, which lasted for two hours.
Talking to reporters in Thoothukudi on Wednesday, Manthan said both the inspection and the public hearing were just an eyewash and conducted as a formality.
“If the State government and the NGT wanted to acknowledge and address the concerns of people, a public referendum should have been conducted,” he said.
Stating that mere closure of the plant was not enough, Manthan said, “The State government should adopt a policy decision and enact a law to scrap the plant from Thoothukudi.”
Claiming that both the Central and State governments gave nod for the hydrocarbon project while the Sterlite issue continued to simmer, he doubted whether these governments would consider the concerns of people and concede their demands seeking a permanent closure of the copper smelter plant.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android