Chennai: On Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami-chaired an all party meeting which was attended by main opposition party DMK among others and decided to to allow Sterlite produce oxygen from its plant in Tuticorin, days after Vedanta moved the Supreme Court in this connection.
Vedanta's Sterlite Industries will now produce oxygen for a period of four months amid surging Covid cases in the country.
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The unit was sealed by the state government in May 2018, days after 13 agitators were killed in police firing during a violent anti-Sterlite protest in the southern district.
According to PTI, "As per the Supreme Court directive, power supply may be allowed for Vedanta's Sterlite Industries in Tuticorin for four months to repair and operate oxygen producing and related equipment only," the meeting resolved.
The Supreme Court on Thursday termed the Covid-19 situation as almost a "national emergency" while agreeing to hear Vedanta's plea for opening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on the ground that it would produce thousand tonnes of oxygen and give it free of cost to treat patients.
On Friday, the apex court had said people were dying due to lack of oxygen and questioned the Tamil Nadu government as to why it cannot take over the Sterlite copper unit for producing oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients.
The four month period may be extended later if the need be but "at no cost" shall other activities like copper manufacturing and running the co-generation plant shall be allowed and the "power supply shall be cut after this period (four months) by TANGEDCO," it added.
The oxygen produced from this plant will be provided to the state of Tamil Nadu on priority after which it will provide oxygen to different states.
"The country is in dire need of oxygen and the Centre is augmenting oxygen from whichever source. Vedanta wants to make its plant operational, but let Vedanta only make it operational to manufacture oxygen for health purposes," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said during the hearing last week.