Tuticorin plant: Supreme Court refuses to into NGT order
New Delhi, Sep 10 : The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with an NGT order to set up an experts committee to study the impact of Vedanta's copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu on the environment. The state government ordered the closure of the plant on May 22, prompting the company to approach the tribunal.
The tribunal had on August 20 set up the committee headed by a retired Judge to visit the smelting plant in Tuticorin, gather technical data and submit a report. The Tamil Nadu government challenged the setting up of the committee in the Supreme Court, contending that company's plea in NGT was not maintainable. Vedanta should have gone to the Madras High Court, not NGT, the state pleaded.
Tamil Nadu had ordered for the closure of the Tuticorin plant, around 650 km from Chennai, following protests and the death of 13 persons in police firing on May 22.
Refusing to interfere with the National Green Tribunal's order to set up the committee, a bench of Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice Indu Malhotra said that the NGT will continue to hold hearing on merit and maintainability of the plea after the panel submits its report.
"Once the committee report is given to the NGT, it will proceed with the hearing," the court ordered.
Besides technical members, the committee has representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Environment and Forest.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Nariman said that the top court's August 17 order has not been brought to NGT notice. "Our order has to be obeyed."
As one of the counsel in the case said that the August 17 order was brought to NGT notice, Justice Nariman pointed out that it does not find mention in the August 20 NGT order.
The bench had on August 17 said: "We clarify that the National Green Tribunal may continue to hear the matter on merits and finally decide the matter both on the maintainability as well as on merits."
Disposing of Tamil Nadu government's challenge to the tribunal permission to Vedanata to access the administrative section of its now-shut Sterlite plant in Tuticorin, the court had said that it was open to Tamil Nadu to "argue the matter on the maintainability more fully after which the tribunal will render its final findings both on the maintainability as well as on merits."
As senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan insisted that the maintainability of the petition by the mining major be decided first, Justice Nariman said: "It is not our order. We had said both."
Vaidyanathan said that the mining major could have approached the High Court only and not the tribunal against the closure order. "We are not with you," Justice Nariman said as Vaidvanathan pressed his plea that the maintainability be decided first.
This month, the NGT had permitted access to the plant's administrative office but barred the Sterlite management from accessing the production unit on the premises.
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People must do politics; elected representatives must work, says Actor Prakash Raj
Kalaburagi: Actor and activist Prakash Raj has said that in a democracy, politics must be done by the people, while elected representatives are meant to work and serve after winning elections.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Prakash Raj said that once representatives are elected, their only responsibility is service. “This is our tax, our country. Service is the only job of people’s representatives. They come to seek votes every five years; the people do not,” he said.
Releasing the newspaper’s special issue at the event, he asserted that the distinction between people and politicians must never be reversed. “This is our country. Citizens must continuously engage in politics, and politicians must continuously work. Never change this order. Politics belongs to the people,” he said.
ALSO READ: Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Quoting writer P. Lankesh, Prakash Raj said newspapers, media, artists, and citizens must act as a permanent opposition. “They must be the voice of the people without seeking the patronage of the ruling party. Only then can they work fearlessly,” he said. He stressed the need to clearly tell today’s society who must engage in politics.
Referring to regional imbalance, he said Karnataka has become Bengaluru-centric and confined largely to southern Karnataka. With Vartha Bharati entering the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the newspaper must contribute to the region’s development by consistently reporting its issues with a strong voice.
Prakash Raj also spoke about the role of independent media, saying that anyone can be swept away in a flood, including dead fish, but to swim against the current requires life. “Independent media have that life. Ravish Kumar, The Wire, and Vartha Bharati have the courage to swim against the flood,” he said.
He warned that fear strengthens authoritarianism. “If we are not afraid, they will be afraid,” he said, alleging that institutions such as the police, Election Commission, courts, and media are being pressured, silenced, and manipulated for political benefit. Expressing concern over the denial of bail to Umar Khalid, he said there is a visible lack of conscience in institutions meant to deliver justice to the people.
Recalling the early years after Independence, Prakash Raj said there was once fear of the police but also faith in the judiciary. “There was confidence that injustice would be addressed in court. Today, that faith no longer exists,” he said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are responsible for the present situation.
Using a metaphor, he said India is like a pond disturbed by a demon within it. “A lotus blooms on the surface, that is the BJP. We are fighting the lotus, but the real fight should be against the RSS, the root power beneath,” he said.
Drawing parallels with past global authoritarian regimes, he said leaders like Hitler and Mussolini headed political parties and could be defeated electorally. “The RSS is not a political party. Defeating the BJP alone is not enough. The roots must be uprooted,” he said, adding that despite changes in appearance, the ideological growth remains unchanged.
Prakash Raj also raised concerns over Hindi imposition, delimitation, and what he described as political oppression of southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in the name of elections. He said people must recognise who is responsible for this oppression and understand the role of newspapers like Vartha Bharati in identifying and exposing it.
The event also marked the formal launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi.
