Apex court seeks green tips on smelting unit (Lead)

August 25th, 2011 - 10:10 pm ICT by IANS  

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to recommend ways to overcome environment-related deficiencies in Sterlite Industries’ copper smelting plant at Tuticorin.

The court said the suggestions should be based on the environment impact assessment study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik issued the direction to the TNPCB after observing that the report submitted by it and Tuticorin collector was totally different from what the court sought July 18.

The court said TNPCB would “specify the deficiencies emerging from the NEERI report” on the smelting plant and “suggest steps to overcome them so that we can issue directions for overcoming them”.

“Prepare the synopsis of the deficiencies and measures to be taken to remove them,” the court told TNPCB.

The court also made it clear that all its directions to TNPCB for the identification and curing of deficiencies were in respect of its interim order staying a high court order directing the closure of the plant and not in the nature of final order.

Sterlite Industries is a subsidiary of the Britain-based Vedanta group.

Before issuing direction to the TNPCB, the court declined a plea by senior counsel C.A. Sundram appearing for the Sterlite Industries to hold the final hearing of the matter. The court said it neither had the time nor was the case listed for final hearing.

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