Court to resume Sterlite case hearing on May 22

Sterlite Industries' copper smelter will remain shut until at least May 22 when a court will resume hearing into complaints of emissions from India's largest smelter.

Justice Swatanter Kumar of the National Green Tribunal, a fast-track environmental court, asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on Thursday to give data on the emissions from the plant before the court resumes hearing on May 22.

The facility meets half of India's demand for the metal, and a near seven-week closure of the plant has tightened supply of refined copper and driven up prices to industry. The plant produces 30,000 tonnes of refined copper a month and nearly half of the output goes to China.

The copper smelter was shut on March 30 after residents complained of emissions that led to breathing problems. The case was transferred to New Delhi from a southern India branch of the court on April 29.