Tamil Nadu to reopen Sterlite plant, but only to manufacture oxygen
The plant can manufacture 1050 tonnes of oxygen every day, which the owners were willing to provide free of cost. However, the permission comes with a rider.
FollowThe Tamil Nadu government has permitted reopening the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi temporarily to manufacture medical grade oxygen.
The state government has set up a team comprising district collector, Superintendent of Police and environment officials to monitor the oxygen production in the plant.
The plant can manufacture 1050 tonnes of oxygen every day, which the owners were willing to provide free of cost.
However, the permission comes with a rider.
Tamil Nadu Advocate General Vijay Narayan told the Madras High Court on Monday that out of its 1050 MT capacity, the plant's capacity for liquid oxygen is only 35 MT. The Advocate General further informed the high court that the purity of oxygen produced by the Sterlite plant was only 93-94 per cent, as it was primarily intended for industrial use. The purity of oxygen intended for medical purpose should be 99.4%.
The Sterlite plant had been shut down on account of violation of environmental norms and the May 2018 police firing on an anti-Sterlite protest in which 13 people lost their lives.
The decision to reopen the plant comes from the Supreme Court's recent suggestion that the state government could take over the Sterlite copper unit and use its oxygen production capability to treat Covid-19 patients.
Vedanta group, which own the plant, has opposed the suggestion of the Apex court, citing that the state government does not have the required operational expertise to manufacture oxygen.
"There is a high probability that if untrained personnel were to operate the oxygen plant, the quality of oxygen produced can be substandard and may not be safe for use," Vedanta said in a special leave petition.
