Chennai: District administration sitting on Rs 140 crore meant for environment remediation?

CHENNAI: The Thoothukudi district administration has reportedly been sitting on a fund of Rs 140 crore meant for environment remediation in Thoothukudi. This submission was made by Sterlite before the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board appellate authority recently in the presence of TNPCB and government officials, who did not dispute the assertion. 

This fund is nothing but compensation paid by Sterlite in 2013 following the judgement of Supreme Court. In April 2013, the apex court had slapped a Rs 100 crore penalty on Sterlite for causing pollution and the amount was deposited with the district administration within three months of the order being passed. 
As of today, the `100 crore, with bank interest, has become Rs 140 crore and, according to sources, is lying idle with the Thoothukudi district administration. A paltry Rs 2.5 crore has reportedly been utilised and that too for laying roads and such. No efforts or plan of action has been drawn up to improve the environment conditions for the locals using the money, sources told the Express. 

The Supreme Court had ordered the compensation as the plant had polluted the environment through emissions. Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) did not renew the plant’s Consent To Operate for some period of time for reported violations and yet the plant continued to operate. 
 Senior counsel P S Raman, who is representing Sterlite before the TNPCB Appellant Authority, expressed disappointment over non-utilisation of funds while arguing that the pollution board has no proof of Sterlite’s pollution after 2013.  

In a report submitted before the appellate authority a few weeks ago, Joint Chief Environmental Engineer R Kannan raised alarm on increasing number of persons being diagnosed with cases of asthma, pharyngitis, sinusitis and other respiratory tract infections and ENT morbidity. The report says, “The respiratory diseases were observed to be prevailing more in communities surrounding the Sterlite unit in Thoothukudi than the State’s average.” It also talks about rusty-red water flowing from taps which is suspected to have occurred due to increase in the iron content in groundwater. 

Women in the villages surrounding the Sterlite unit have inexplicably high incidence of menstrual disorders, like menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea. Fear of arsenic laced wastewater from Sterlite plant reportedly flooding the Silverpuram, Meelavittan and Kaluthaikuttan tanks was not ruled out.  However, Sterlite, in its official website, claims that the water samples from the piezometric bore-wells/dug wells are being checked by pollution board on monthly basis inside the plant premises and in nearby villages.

“If Sterlite Copper were polluting the groundwater, we would expect to see evidence of marker pollutants like copper, zinc and arsenic. The samples do not reveal the presence of these marker pollutants,” the company says. District collector Sandeep Nanduri was not available for comments. District Environmental Engineer PS Livingston said he is not aware of the details as he took charge only on May 22. “I will get back after looking through the files,” he said.