Vedanta Limited on Saturday accused the State government of attempting to delay the hearings before the three-member committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal to look into its decision to close the Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi.
The committee, headed by former Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Tarun Agrawal, has been holding hearings at the offices of the Southern Zone bench of the NGT and has been given six weeks to conclude the proceedings.
Rohini Musa, counsel on record for Vedanta, said that lawyers for the company had tried to expedite the next hearing. “The company has finished making its submissions. The State counsel said that he would not be responding as he was not ready with his arguments on the points raised by the company,” she told reporters.
‘Single-point agenda’
However, the next batch of hearings has been scheduled for October 27-29, as requested by C.S. Vaidyanathan, the senior advocate who appeared for the government. “We tried to make the submission that the company is closed and tried to get an earlier date. I think the State is only trying to project the fact that they want to delay the matter as far as possible. That seems to be their single-point agenda,” said Ms. Musa. In a statement, Sterlite Copper said the government and the TNPCB had failed to produce evidence to support their allegations against the company.
