Vedanta Puts Tuticorin-Based Copper Plant for Sale

The Mining company Vedanta puts the Tuticorin-based Copper Plant for sale by releasing an Expression of Interest(EOI). The conglomerate has invited EoI by July 4.

Facts

The plant is responsible for 40% of the total copper reserves of India.The Tuticorin-based Vedanta plant was accounted for employing over 5,000 workers.

The metals and mining conglomerate company has posted an advertisement inviting EoI by July 4 for the plant, which has been shut down since 2018 due to a Tamil Nadu government order. The plant is accounted for 40% of India’s copper output and employs over 5,000 thousand workers.

Story Behind

Vedanta’s copper plant faced protestors, demanding the closure of the copper plant over alleged violation of environmental norms and much destruction to the environment.

The case first came into the limelight when in May 2018, the local population protested against the plant’s expansion for causing environmental pollution. Later, the case was taken to the Tamil Nadu High Court, and now the case is in the Supreme Court. Following Vedanta’s appeal against a Madras High Court’s decision to dismiss its plea to reverse the original order of the state pollution regulator closing the plant.

Meanwhile, the company has cut down its employees and shifted them directly or indirectly to other factories.

There are still some native residents like Fisher women from coastal hamlets who have submitted a petition to district collector K Senthil Raj demanding the reopening of the plant,

The rising 90% imports and 10% exports in Copper supply have declined the plant productivity. The rising imports and declining exports can be considered to be one of the challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.’

Conclusion

Therefore, the vision of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat is strategically planned to take developing India to developed India.