Thoothukudi Sterlite Copper Plant Machinery Worth Rs 2,250 Crore Rotting For Lack Of Maintenance Permission: Vedanta

Mining giant Vedanta while challenging the closure of its Thoothukudi Sterlite Copper plant in Madras High Court claimed that plant machinery and equipment worth Rs 2,250 crore is rotting away for more that a year over lack of permission to carry out maintenance activities, The Hindu has reported.

Vedanta’s counsel claimed that since the state government ordered shutdown on 9 April 2018, the company has been repeatedly denied permission to maintain its equipment. The counsel added that Vedanta has invested over Rs 20,000 crore in the plant and provided directed or indirect employment to 45,000 people.

“If I succeed before this court, I need the machinery to run the plant. Even if don’t, I should be able to shift my plant to some other State. How can they force such a plant to rot?”, the counsel argued.

Prior to completing its arguments Vedanta also claimed that the Tamil Nadu government would one day regret its “unjustifiably hard stance” against the Thoothukudi plant, similar to what West Bengal realised after driving away Tata Motors from its Singur plant.