Sterlite Copper on Monday said before a National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel looking into the closure of its plant in Thoothukudi that due procedure was not followed under the Air and Water Act while collecting the pollution data which the State had presented before the panel.
Vice-President (Sterlite Copper) A. Sumathi, in a press note released on Monday, said the TNPCBamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had relied upon data pertaining to analysis of soil, sediments, water and air samples, collected between October 12 and 15, which were “contested and demonstrated to be invalid” at the NGT’s hearing on Sunday.
Earlier, the State government said the ambient air quality had improved following the Sterlite plant’s closure.
“The analysis results were also challenged as it was carried out only to justify the State’s G.O. to close and seal the factory,” she said. in the release, adding that the data collected before the closure of the plant did not show any anomaly.
Sterlite had presented before the committee relevant documentary evidence showing compliance with environmental norms, and there was no justification for the closure of the plant, the press release said.