Khushi
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has convened an all party meeting at the State Secretariat on Monday to discuss the proposal of Sterlite copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi. Political party DMK would be participating in the meeting.
The issue of Sterlite involves allowing the reopening of the plant to produce and provide oxygen. Sterlite had moved the Supreme Court to allow it to produce and provide oxygen for free at a time when many States are facing shortage of oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients.
Sterlite has offered to produce 1,000 MT of oxygen per day from the facility during COVID-19 crisis.
Mr. Palaniswami on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to suspend the diversion of 80 KL of liquid oxygen from Sriperumbudur to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The reason behind the request was the rising active cases in Tamil Nadu crossing the one-lakh mark.
Last week, a bench headed by former Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde had voiced its anguish at the State’s objection to re-open the plant.
“We do not care if it is you, Vedanta, Centre, A, B, C who runs the plant, but oxygen must be produced from a place capable of producing it. The Constitution demands that material resources should be equally distributed all over the country,” the former CJI said.
The proposal to reopen the plant is facing resistance from a section of residents in Thoothukudi where 13 anti-Sterlite protesters were killed in a police firing at Thoothukudi in May, 2018.