SC asks environ body to submit report on Sterlite unit in July

The Supreme Court today directed National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to submits report on environmental norms compliance by Sterlite Industry's copper smelting plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu by third week of July.

The court's direction came over a petition filed by Sterlite, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, against the Madras High Court order on September 28 for closure of the smelting plant for non-compliance of environmental norms.

A two-member bench of Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik asked NEERI, which is inspecting pollution levels at the plant under the apex court's order on February 25, to complete and submit its report before the third week of July.

The bench also said its stay on the order of the Madras High Court would continue.

The high court had ordered closure of the company's plant on the grounds that it was within 25 km of an ecologically fragile area and that the company had failed to develop a 250 metre-wide green belt around the plant.

The company, however, has disputed the high court order, saying that it was not given a proper hearing by the court, which ignored its submissions.

During the hearing today, the court was informed that NEERI has already conducted the required tests and collected necessary samples for assessing pollution level by the plant in the first and third week of April but is yet to submit a report.

On this, the Bench asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to coordinate between NEERI and other respondents in this matter.

The apex court also made it clear that respondents would file their reply after NEERI submits its report. The matter will be listed for hearing before the Bench after the third week of July.

Earlier, the Bench in February has directed NEERI to visit the site and make a report on pollution in view of differences in the findings of Central Pollution Control Board and TNPCB.

Observing that NEERI itself had given conflicting reports on the issue, the apex court asked it to consider them as well before finalising the new findings.