Awaiting formation of oversight committee for oxygen production: Vedanta

Vedanta said it would await the formation of the oversight committee by the state government as directed by SC bench on resuming the operation of its facility in Tamil Nadu to produce oxygen

: Mining conglomerate Vedanta on

Thursday said it would await the formation of the oversight committee by the state government as directed by the Supreme Court bench on resuming the operation of its facility in Tamil Nadu to produce oxygen.

The development follows a Supreme Court bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat directing the Tamil Nadu government to form an oversight committee to oversee the functioning of the plant.

In a statement on Thursday, Vedanta said, "we await the formation of the oversight committee as directed by the Supreme Court bench, and look forward to the restoration of power to the plant and the recommendations of the committee, in order to commence the necessary steps towards critical oxygen production".

On April 26, an all party meeting convened by the Tamil Nadu government resolved to allow Sterlite Industries to produce oxygen at its facility in Tuticorin about 600 km from here, for a four month period amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for the partial reopening of the copper smelter closed in 2018 over pollution concerns.