SC slaps Rs 100-cr fine on Sterlite for pollution,but sets aside closure order

Sterlite has to pay the amount within 3 months and it will be used for environment protection.

Imposing a record penalty on a company for polluting the environment,the Supreme Court Tuesday ordered Sterlite Industries,a subsidiary of Britain-based Vedanta Group,to pay Rs 100 crore as compensation for inappropriately operating its copper smelting plant in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu and damaging the environment between 1997 and 2012.

Considering the magnitude,capacity and prosperity of the appellant company,we are of the view that it should be held liable for a compensation of Rs 100 crore for having polluted the environment in the vicinity of its plant and for having operated the plant without a renewal of the consents by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for a fairly long period, said a bench led by Justice A K Patnaik.

According to us,any less amount,would not have the desired deterrent effect on the company, it said. Sterlite has to pay the amount within three months and it will be used for environment protection in the plants vicinity.

Story continues below this ad

The bench,however in public interest,refrained from ordering a permanent closure of the plant. It noted that Sterlite had removed 29 of the 30 deficiencies pointed out by experts and had contributed significantly towards copper production in India and provided employment.

While setting aside the 2010 Madras High Court order to close the plant,the bench clarified that the quantum of compensation was not final and its order did not give Sterlite a perpetual approval to operate the plant.

Sterlite welcomed the decision and said in a statement it would continue to work in close association with the state government and other regulatory bodies towards maintaining the highest standards of health,safety and environment.

Bengaluru family feared dead in Kurnool bus fire

Cities17 min ago

A family of four from Andhra Pradesh, residing in Bengaluru, are suspected to be among the 20 people reported dead in a fire that gutted a Hyderabad-Bengaluru bus near Kurnool in the early hours of Friday.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS