SC continues stay over Madras HC order on Sterlite

The Supreme Court today extended its stay over the Madras High Court order directing Sterlite Industries to close its copper smelting plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu over alleged violation of environmental norms.

A bench comprising Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik said that the interim stay granted by it on October 1 over the High Court order would continue.

"The interim stay would continue meanwhile," the bench said after adjourning the matter to the last week of January for hearing.

The bench also allowed the plea of respondent NGO National Trust for Clean Environment to file reply over the affidavit filed by the Sterlite Industries over compliance of various directions issued by the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control (TPCB) Board over the solid waste management of the plant.

The Apex court's direction came over a petition filed by Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, against the order of the high court, which on September 28 ordered shutting down of the smelting plant for not complying with environmental norms.

The company, in a special leave petition against the order, had claimed that the high court did not give it a proper hearing and ignored its submissions.

The high court had held that Sterlite's plant was within 25 km of an ecologically fragile area and the company has failed to develop a green belt of 250 meter width around the plant.

Earlier, on October 18, during the last hearing, the Apex court had issued notices to the Centre, Tamil Nadu government and the TPCB.

The court had also directed the TPCB to file the latest position on the plant and surrounding areas after National Trust for Clean Environment, alleged that the site still has heavy solid waste contamination.