NGT to hear Vedanta's plea at its Chennai bench on Monday

Chennai: National Green Tribunal appointed former Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Tarun Agrawal, as the head of a three-member committee to decide mining company Vedanta’s plea challenging closure of Sterlite's copper plant at Thoothukudi, will conduct a hearing at NGT, Southern Bench, Chennai on Monday.

Registrar, NGT, (Southern Zone) issued a communication on Tuesday. Justice Tarun Agrawal will be conducting a hearing at Kalas Mahal, NGT (Southern Zone) on September 24 (Monday) at 10.am.

Opposing the closure order they got on May 28 , Vedanta approached the principal bench of NGT, New Delhi. After appointing Justice Tarun Agrawal recently, the tribunal said credible mechanism, through which rival contentions can be balanced and final view taken has to be evolved. The committee may visit the site and consider technical data.

The tribunal also directed the Committee to go into the  issue of environmental compliance produced by the parties as well as whether the impact is real and submit its report to it.

In a major setback to the state government and police the Madurai bench of Madras HC, on August 14, ordered a CBI probe into the police firing against anti-Sterlite protestors in Thoothukudi on May 22.