Madras High Court permits Vaiko to oppose Vedanta’s plea for ‘green copper’ plant at Thoothukudi Sterlite premises

A view of the Sterlite Plant in Thoothukudi. File

The Madras High Court has permitted Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko to implead as one of the respondents to a writ petition filed by Vedanta Limited challenging Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) refusal to grant permission for a ‘green copper’ plant on the defunct Sterlite copper plant premises in Thoothukudi.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan allowed petitions filed by Mr. Vaiko, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu (a federation of traders’ associations) represented by its secretary R. Rajkumar and activist R. Fatima of Thoothukudi to get impleaded as respondents since they wanted to oppose Vedanta’s plea.

After recording the appearance of senior counsel P.S. Raman and Satish Parasaran, assisted by Rahul Balaji, for Vedanta, the judges directed the High Court Registry to list the writ petition next on November 20, 2026 for further hearing. Vedanta had challenged an order passed by the TNPCB on January 27 refusing to grant ‘Consent to Operate’ (CTO) the proposed green copper plant.

The petitioner company had also insisted upon constitution of a court-monitored multidisciplinary expert committee comprising representatives of the State government as well as the Centre, along with independent experts in the relevant fields, to examine the ‘green copper’ proposal independently, comprehensively, and scientifically before submitting a report to the court within a specific time frame.

In its affidavit filed in February 2026, Vedanta had contended that the TNPCB’s rejection order did not reflect any genuine statutory evaluation of the ‘green copper’ proposal, but rested on a fundamentally “flawed” premise that past regulatory actions and earlier judicial proceedings foreclose even the consideration of a re-engineered and environmentally superior facility.

The company claimed that TNPCB had failed to take note the critical national as well as global demand for copper, its status as a strategic resource, and the growing trend of resource nationalism. It said, the ‘green copper’ facility would help augment domestic copper production, while prioritising sustainability since the eco-friendly process would be distinct from previous copper-smelting processes.

Vedanta also pointed out that it had filed a writ petition in January this year seeking a direction to the State government to consider its ‘green copper’ proposal, which would utilise an environmentally superior process designed to be an exemplar of sustainable and responsible industry. While passing interim orders in that petition, the court had permitted the company to submit applications to statutory authorities.

Therefore, Vedanta had applied to the TNPCB for the issuance of a CTO on January 9 but it was rejected on January 27, forcing the group to file a fresh writ petition challenging the rejection order.

Explaining the benefits of ‘green copper,’ the company told the court that the term refers to copper produced with a significantly lower carbon footprint in comparison with conventional smelting processes. The reduction would be achieved by maximising the use of recycled copper as input. “Using recycled copper minimises the need for copper concentrate processing, which was the primary source of slag generation in smelting operation,” it said.

Apart from the projected reduction of 15% in slag generation, approximately 40% of reduction was expected in hazardous waste generation, too. Through the utilisation of 30% recycled input, the proposed green copper plant was projected to achieve 34% reduction in carbon footprint because less fossil fuel would be consumed in the energy-intensive smelting and converting processes, Vedanta claimed.

“Furthermore, round-the-clock renewable energy will be utilised for hybrid operations. The suspension of the phosphoric acid plant and adoption of advanced air and water management technologies will further minimise environmental impact and enable the company to produce copper cathode with less than 0.9 kg of CO₂ emissions per kg of copper, i.e., about 50% less than the global average,” its affidavit read.