We have always been environ-conscious: Sterlite CEO P Ramnath

Chennai: "We as a company have always been environmentally conscious in every aspect of our operations and have followed all regulations laid down by law", said Sterlite Copper CEO P Ramnath reacting to the NGT tribunal holding the action of the TN Government in closing down the plant as "not sustainable as it is against the principles of natural justice".

"As a company, we have always been concerned about the wellbeing of our employees, the villages in and around our plant, our stakeholders and the people of Thoothukudi and shall always remain committed to the same," Ramnath said in a statement.

He said the NGT committee has followed due process to independently investigate and hear both sides of the argument. "They have submitted their report to the NGT and the operative paragraphs of the report were read out in the open court which mentioned that the orders passed by the Tamil Nadu government are against the principles of natural justice," Ramnath said, noting that the points raised in the orders passed or other additional issues raised are not grievous and does not justify permanent closure of the factory.

Pointing out that the NGT committee has also proposed certain recommendations to be complied by company and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), he said, "We are yet to receive the report and will go through in detail to study the recommendations. Both parties have been given liberty to file their submissions with respect to the report or otherwise within a period of one week from today and the matter is posted for further hearing on Dec 7, 2018". 

The CEO expressed hope that the NGT would give its verdict soon "for life to come back to normalcy for the 25,000 families impacted by the closure".