The Madras High Court on Tuesday rejected a plea by natural resources company Vedanta seeking permission to reopen its Sterlite copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi. The plant was sealed by the Tamil Nadu government on May 28, 2018 due to environmental concerns. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) founder Vaiko, who has been demanding the closure of the plant for nearly 25 years, hailed the verdict. The verdict was a shock for Vedanta, the parent company, but the firm ruled out shifting the plant out of Tamil Nadu. As of now, we are not even thinking of that,” Sterlite Copper CEO Pankaj Kumar told The Hindu.

Source: The Hindu August 19, 2020 07:40 UTC