Greeva Garg –
The Supreme Court of India today decided to hear the plea filed by Vedanta Limited on August 6.
The petition sought for extension in the permission period for the production of oxygen in the Sterlite Copper plant, located in the port city of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.
The Apex Court earlier allowed Vedanta to reopen its Sterlite plant for the purpose of producing oxygen amid the shortage faced by hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The petition was mentioned before the division bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah by Senior Advocate Harish Salve for extending of permission period which earlier was decided to be till July 31 in an order dated April 27, by the Supreme Court.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf the State of Tamil Nadu, opposed the application and said, “We have sufficient amount of oxygen now.”
To oversight the activities being occurred in the Sterlite plant, the bench has constituted a committee to look into the affairs of the plant.
The Bench while warning the petitioners stated, “The plant should be used only for the purpose of manufacturing medical grade oxygen and not for any other purpose like manufacturing of copper and electricity.”
The Court directed that the order will persist in force till July 31, and the plea will be taken up again in the next week as per the situation of the issue.
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