Lessons from Tuticorin: India needs to move away from crony capitalism

We are far away from establishing a fair and rule-based free-market capitalistic system. What happened in Tuticorin is perhaps a grim reminder of this

The people of Tuticorin have been protesting against Vedanta’s Sterlite copper unit for its adverse impact on the environment for quite some time. This protest took a bloody turn recently when 13 protestors died tragically when the police fired on the crowd.

Since then, as reported, allegations and counter allegations have been made that the UPA government or the current NDA government (or both) interpreted environmental regulations in a manner that allowed Vedanta to operate and expand the copper plant without holding public consultations.

In 2016, the National Green Tribunal struck down orders issued by the NDA government in December