Thoothukudi: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) district engineer in the presence of the Thoothukudi district collector, district police superintendent and the local tahsildar sealed the Sterlite copper factory amidst the great joy of Thoothukudi residents who have been fighting for this for more than 23 years since the foundation stone was laid in 1994.
District environmental engineer P S Livingston along with Thoothukudi tahsildhar, Sivagamaundari locked the main entrance of the factory with a iron chain and sealed it.
Later, speaking to the media, district collector Sandeep Nanduri said that the decision was taken by government in accordance with the collective will of the people.
Affirming that this is a permanent closure, the district collector said that he had instructed the company administration to ensure that no employee was present inside the factory henceforth.
However, the factory being a chemical unit with phosphoric acid and sulphuric plants that should be handled with utmost care, the collector said, adding, pollution control board officers in coordination with engineers of the factory would take further action for the safe disposal of chemicals and equipment within the unit in a week.
Sterlite industry was born in controversy in 1994 when the foundation stone was laid by the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa. It was closed down for the first time on November 23, 1998. The industry fought the closure decision within a week and resumed operation.
The second closure was on September 28, 2008. This was done on the verdict of the Madras High Court in a case filed by the National Trust for Clean Environment.
The MDMK leader Vaiko, CITU and CPI also impleaded themselves in this case. This time the copper major needed just three days to quash the Madras high court order in an appeal at the Supreme Court.
The company was again closed down for the third time by a government order during the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK rule on March 29, 2013. Government took this step following a gas leakage that affected people in Thoothukudi city.
However, the Supreme Court once again permitted the factory to resume operations, but delivered a severe indictment and ordered the company to pay a fine of Rs 100 crore.
The present government order, according to a TNPCB source, will be a real great blow to the copper rod manufacturer, as unlike the earlier orders issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), this one is issued directly by the State Environment secretary.
