NGT assures Sterlite its plea will be decided before vacation

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today assured Vedanta group company, Sterlite Industries Ltd, that the forum will decide its plea challenging closure of its copper plant in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu before the vacation which starts from June 1.
"Rest assured, before the vacation, we will decide the matter," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
The assurance from the NGT came after Sterlite Industries completed their arguments on how Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's March 29 order to shut down the plant was passed "without application of mind".
Referring to a recent affidavit filed by the TNPCB in support of its decision to order closure of the plant, Sterlite contended the reasons given by the Board are mere "inferences and suppositions and without any foundation.

"There has been no application of mind by the TNPCB," advocate Pinaki Mishra, appearing for Sterlite argued.
The lawyer also questioned the closure order passed by the Chairman of the TNPCB by invoking emergency powers, saying "the power was invoked six days after the complaints were made against the plant".
"What was the emergency that occurred six days after the complaints?," he said.