Sterlite Issue

Why in news?

The Madras High Court has refused to allow the reopening of the Sterlite copper plant at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

What is the story behind?

• The plant was closed in 2018 after 13 people were killed by the police.
• The police fired on protesters demonstrating outside the factory premises against environmental pollution.
• The merits and demerits of the Sterlite case have been extensively discussed in courts.

What was the company’s response to the Madras HC order?

• The company has moved the Supreme Court against the order.
• The issue will be further dissected when the SC takes it up again.
• Ultimately, the apex court will have the final say in the matter.
• The whole discussion, thus far, has been on the alleged environmental impact of the project in and around the region.
• The other key issues have been deliberately avoided.

How did the factory found refuge in Tamil Nadu?

• The project was driven out by Maharashtra and Goa for various reasons.
• Surprisingly, it found refuge in Tamil Nadu.
• The initial culpability should rest with the State government of the day that allowed the project to come into the State in the first instance.
• The State has been under the dispensation of either of the two Dravidian parties, all through the development of the Sterlite plant.
• There were intermittent protests against the project all these years.
• But the project went from strength to strength.
• With close to 4,000 direct and 20,000 indirect jobs, the project helped the region around the port to prosper.
• It also helped India become a copper-exporting nation.

What are the impacts of the closure?

• With the closure of the plant, India has been forced to become a net importer of copper after nearly 18 years.
• The closure resulted in the complete evaporation of livelihoods in the entire region.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened the misery.

How did the problem assume significance?

• State leaderships of all hues let the project continue all these years, despite the intermittent anti-Sterlite sentiments.
• All of a sudden, the problem assumed a magnified proportion when the company proposed an expansion.
• It took an ugly turn when police fired on protesters.
• In this instance, the government ordered immediate closure of the plant after the police firing outside the plant premises.
• Sterlite has now become a reference point – for all the wrong reasons – for any prospective manufacturers to set up plants in Tamil Nadu.
• Sterlite was the alibi when a rifle project was moved to Amethi by Russia.

What is needed?

• In a socioeconomic context, a trade-off is an inevitable necessity in the debate between development and environment.
• With a population of over 130 crore, the issue of development cannot be wished away.
• This calls for a responsible political leadership.
• It also needs professionalism from assorted government agencies like the Pollution Control Board.

Source: The Hindu