Tamil Nadu allows Sterlite Copper plant to reopen for 4 months to produce medical oxygen

The Tamil Nadu government led by Edappadi Palaniswami on April 26 gave permission to Vedanta Group's Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin to produce oxygen amidst the looming O2 crisis across the country. The AIADMK government after an all-party meet held in Chennai declared that the copper plant has been granted permission to generate oxygen for four months.

This decision comes after AIADMK along with its alliance parties as well as the Opposition endorsed the reopening of the Sterlite plant in Tuticorin. The resolution was passed after widespread consultation that included eight recognised popular political parties, namely, the AIADMK, the DMK, BJP, PMK, Vaiko's DMDK and other left parties, who all jointly endorsed the temporary and conditional reopening of the copper plant for oxygen production to meet the country's desperate oxygen demands.

Kanimozhi provides conditional support for reopening Sterlite

The DMK MP stated that temporary permissions for only a limited time period should be provided and called for a Committee monitoring of the plant while it is in operation. The TN leader also demanded a free and adequate oxygen supply for the people of Tamilnadu.

'A resolution has been passed to permit oxygen production for four months and it would be reviewed later,' DMK leader and MP for Tuticorin Kanimozi said.

The all-party meeting which lasted for two hours in the State capital comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing of Vedanta's plea to open the unit to produce 1,000mt of oxygen. Notably, the unit has remained shut since May 2018, after widespread protests over environmental concerns that also tragically led to the death of 13 protestors who died as a result of police firing.

In the statement released by the Tamil Nadu government, it was declared that the state government will constitute a monitoring committee led by the District Collector and also comprise of a Superintendent of Police, Sub-Collector, District Environmental Engineer from the Pollution Control Board, two government experts on oxygen production and three representatives of public, environmental organisations and anti-Sterlite groups.

What is the anti-Sterlite Copper plant protest?

The Sterlite Copper plant has been in operation in Tuticorin since 1997 and has been punctuated by controversies through the years. The fresh protests in 2018 were triggered by the company's plan to expand its Brownfield plant in Tuticorin, which entailed doubling the capacity of the copper smelter plant to 8 lakh tonnes per year. The controversy was triggered after activists protested the plant and argued that the pollution from the copper plant, including issues relating to disposal of copper waste and industrial effluents affected the surrounding area, thereby demanding its permanent closure.