NEW DELHI, April 28 – India’s top court on Tuesday permitted mining company Vedanta to operate its shuttered copper plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for production of medical oxygen amid the shortage across the country under a severe wave of COVID-19 outbreak.
The apex court said the oxygen production unit will function on a stand-alone basis and that Vedanta will not be allowed to access the copper or the power plant on the premises, Xinhua news agency reported.
The court described the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases as a “national crisis”.
“Vedanta can open the plant only to produce medical grade oxygen,” the court said. “The order is passed only in view of the national need for oxygen. The order will not create any equities in favour of Vedanta.”
The ongoing COVID-19 wave has triggered a shortage of critical supplies such as oxygen and essential medicines in India.
The court said Vedanta could operate the oxygen plant under the supervision of a committee.
Vedanta moved to Supreme Court last week seeking permission to operate its oxygen producing unit at the Thoothukudi’s Sterlite copper plant, which was shut down in May 2018. It cited dire oxygen shortages across the country amid surging COVID-19 infections.
To cope up with the ongoing crisis, the Indian government deployed trains and the air force to transport much-needed oxygen supplies to hard-hit states, apart from importing some of it from foreign countries.
Source: BERNAMA