DMK president M.K. Stalin and CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan on Sunday condemned the report of the Union Ministry of Water Resources that stated that Sterlite Industry was not the only cause of pollution of groundwater in and around Thoothukudi.
“The report has been released without understanding the mindset of the people and it has angered them,” Mr. Stalin said in a statement.
He said at a time when the cases related to the industry were pending in the Supreme Court, the Madras High Court and the Green Tribunal, releasing a report in favour of the unit had betrayed the people.
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Corporate interests
“It is shocking that the BJP government had ignored the interest of seven crore Tamil people in favour of a corporate company,” he said.
Mr. Stalin said though the State government had received information about the study conducted by the Centre through the intelligence wing, it remained indifferent, and was making a hue and cry only after the report was released.
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“The State government is enacting a farce. It exposed the nexus between the Centre, the Sterlite unit and the AIADMK government,” he said.
Mr. Balakrishnan said the report was an attempt to save the Sterlite plant because the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had already conducted a study and the unit was closed based on the report.
“Already, the Green Tribunal has constituted a committee to study the pollution level and the Centre had preempted it. It is against the functioning of the Green Tribunal,” he pointed out.
‘Secret mission’
In a statement, MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the Central government was trying to protect the interests of the Vedanta Group’s chairman, and hence, it had despatched the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to conduct a study on water contamination in Thoothukudi secretly.
Mr. Vaiko asked the Tamil Nadu government to reject the report and ensure that the plant was closed permanently.