Sterlite Copper CEO Pankaj Kumar on Tuesday said the Madras High Court verdict disallowing reopening of its plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, comes as an ‘utter shock’ to the company’s employees and thousands of small businesses, entrepreneurs and community members dependent on the plant’s continued operations.
“We firmly believe in the safe and environmentally sound nature of our operations and are discouraged by the wilful reliance on anecdotal evidence and half-truths by certain parties to spread falsehoods against our operations. It is also disheartening to note that at a time when our nation is forced to depend on hostile neighbours for copper imports, certain forces are conspiring to stifle our nation’s ability to be an independent copper manufacturer. At no point in our operations were any concerns of pollution raised by the appropriate authorities. We will therefore be pursuing all available legal remedies in the pursuit of justice over the coming days,” Kumar said.
The Madras HC on Tuesday rejected a plea from mining giant Vedanta for allowing reopening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin, which has been closed since May 2018 over pollution concerns.