Thoothukudi sources reported that Tamilnadu government rejected a suo motu groundwater analysis conducted by the Union Ministry of Water Resources in Thoothukudi district, where the Sterlite copper smelter plant is located. As per report the study which was conducted without the knowledge of the state government, has been slammed by Tamilnadu as “vague and unscientific”.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Water Resources had instructed to the Central Ground Water Board to conduct a study on September 5, 2018. Accordingly the concluding paragraph of the Centre’s study states, “It is to mention that the investigation team couldn’t enter into the premises of M/s. Sterlite Copper Industry for collection of representative samples from inside and outside of industry; because district authorities sealed the Sterlite Copper Plant following the Governments order to close down the plant permanently.”
Furthermore in a strongly worded letter to the
Union Ministry, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan hit back, saying the study
was both inappropriate and unwarranted. Moreover, the letter alleges that the
report was commissioned to “prejudice the Government of Tamilnadu and the
TNPCB” in cases pending before the Courts. Finally it also stated that such a
report was likely to upset the normalcy that has been restored in Thoothukudi.
