The Supreme Court on Friday directed a study on the impact of the copper unit of Sterlite Industries near Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on the environment. The court was reacting to reports from the central and state pollution control boards.
Even the earlier reports of the National Environment Engineering Institute (NEERI) had differed on the ecological effect of the unit, operating near the coast.
The bench headed by Justice R V Raveendran had asked NEERI to make another comprehensive survey and report to the court. This followed the submission of Sterlite, part of the UK-based Vedanta group, that it was not letting out noxious gas or effluents from its copper unit, but the real contributors to the pollution were the other industries in the area such as NTPC and SPIC.
Last year, the company had got a reprieve when the Supreme Court stayed the Madras High Court order against operating the unit. The high court had directed the plant on the southern sea coast to shut down for violating environmental norms.