Vedanta up 5% as Tamil Nadu govt allows Sterlite plant to produce oxygen

Shares of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd jumped 5 per cent to Rs 239 on the BSE in the intra-day deals on Monday amid report that Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami has allowed the company to operate its Tuticorin plant to produce oxygen amid sharp surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

According to a PTI report, an All-party meeting by Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami, convened earlier today, allowed Vedanta's Sterlite Industries in Tuticorin to produce oxygen for four months. 

The order, however, added that Vedanta cannot involve the plant in copper production or any other activities, the report added. READ HERE

The decision comes after the Supreme Court said on Friday why couldn't Vedanta operate the plant given the "emergency-like" situation in the country due to Covid-19. The SC had agreed to hear Vedanta's plea on the ground that it will produce a thousand tonnes of oxygen and give it free of cost to treat patients. 

Sterlite Copper plant, owned by the Vedanta group of companies, had sought approvals of the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre to operate its oxygen plants to meet the rising demand for Covid-19 patients across the country. The company had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking its permission to open only the oxygen plant at the copper smelter unit to produce 1,050 tonnes of oxygen per day for hospitals.

Tamil Nadu government, however, had opposed any urgent hearing of Vedanta’s plea. It opposed the reopening of the smelter plant on various grounds, including that it had been rejected by the apex court earlier. The plant was ordered to shut down in 2018 by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the state government over environmental violations. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court.

At 2:00 pm, the stock was ruling 4.6 per cent higher at Rs 238.5 apiece on the BSE as against a 1 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.