Sakshi Chhabra
The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted Vedanta to operate its Oxygen production unit on standalone basis at Copper plant in Tuticorin, which had been closed for 3 years.
The permission has been granted in view of acute Oxygen shortage being faced by many states in the country, amid the second wave of Covid-19.
A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao and S. Ravindra Bhat said Vedanta shall not be allowed to enter and operate its copper smelting plant under the garb of this order. The Apex court said there should be no political bickering over the generation of oxygen by Vedanta as the country is facing a national crisis.
Appearing for Vedanta, senior advocate Harish Salve said that if the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi is allowed to restart, it can save lives.
“We want this permission only to start the oxygen plant. And we will supply it free of cost. Give us the permission today and we can start producing it in 5-6 days,” Salve said.
Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, who represented the State government, said there was a trust deficit with Vedanta and added that the violations for which the plant was shut cannot be ignored. The State government opposed any urgent hearing of Vedanta’s plea.
On April 23, the top court had said people are dying due to lack of oxygen and questioned the Tamil Nadu government on why it cannot take over Vedanta’s Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin, closed since May 2018 over pollution concerns, for producing oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients.
“The plant shall be operated and only produce oxygen and used for no other purpose,” said Justice DY Chandrachud while pronouncing the order on Tuesday, according to ANI.
Senior lawyer Harish Salve, appearing for Vedanta, told Justice Chandrachud that the unit can begin producing oxygen in around 5-6 days.
The court directed to give Vedanta the necessary electricity supply for the oxygen plant. Furthermore, before commencing it was decided that a safety audit of the plant needs to be carried out.
A committee has been set up for the same and will do all that is needed. Also, to nominate experts who are residents in the nearby areas so that they do not find it difficult to convene at such a short notice.