Tuticorin plant: Sc asks NGT to decide matter on merit

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the Tamil Nadu government's plea against an NGT order to permit mining major Vedanta to access the company's administrative office inside its Sterlite copper smelting plant at Tuticorin.

A bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice Indu Malhotra asked the NGT to decide the matter on merit.

Tamil Nadu had ordered the closure of the Tuticorin plant, around 650 km from Chennai, following protests and the death of 13 persons in police firing on May 22.

Chief Minister K. Palaniswami had on August 12 chaired a meeting of ministers and officials to decide the next course of action after the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) August 9 orders in a case filed by Vedanta Ltd, which owns the Tuticorin plant.

While permitting access to the administrative office at the plant that was shut down, the NGT had barred the Sterlite management from accessing the production unit on the premises and directed the District Magistrate to ensure compliance with its order.

The tribunal had observed that no environmental damage would be caused by allowing the company to access its administrative section.