Madurai
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the State to study the impact of pollution caused by the discharge of industrial waste by Sterlite Copper into the Uppar in Thoothukudi.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S.S. Sundar observed that the State could conduct the study and come up with remedial measures to rid the Uppar of industrial waste.
The petitioner in the case, S. P. Muthuram of Thoothukudi, sought directions to the State to initiate criminal prosecution against Vedanta, the holding company of Sterlite Copper, for polluting the Uppar.
He alleged that the company had released industrial waste, particularly copper slag, into the Uppar. A total of 3.52 lakh tonnes of industrial waste had been dumped by the plant so far in the region, most of it into the Uppar.
Following complaints from the public, Vedanta had promised to address the issue. However, it failed to initiate the necessary steps, he charged.
Though the TNPCB and the district authorities could initiate criminal prosecution for the environmental damage, the authorities had not taken any action. Vedanta, which was supposed to intimate the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Thoothukudi District Environmental Engineer about where the copper slag would be dumped did not do so. Hence, the authorities concerned had the power to take action against the company for polluting the Uppar, he said.
