TNPCB rejects Vedanta’s ‘Green Copper’ proposal at Thoothukudi Sterlite plant; company moves Madras High Court

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has refused to issue a ‘Consent to Operate’ (CTO) to multinational business conglomerate Vedanta Limited for establishing a ‘Green Copper’ plant on the Thoothukudi Sterlite plant premises, which has remained non-functional since 2018. The company has, therefore, approached the Madras High Court with a plea to quash the rejection order.

Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) directed Additional Advocate General (AAG) J. Ravindran to get instructions by February 26 regarding the constitution of an expert committee to study the possibility of permitting the ‘Green Copper’ facility. Vedanta had submitted an application to the TNPCB on January 9, seeking the CTO but the Board had rejected it on January 27.

Assailing the rejection order, senior counsel Satish Parasaran, assisted by Rahul Balaji, contended that the application had been rejected in an arbitrary manner without providing advance notice or an opportunity for hearing to his client. “This reflects a pre-determined and prejudicial approach towards the petitioner and therefore, the rejection order is ex-facie arbitrary, illegal, and untenable,” he argued.

In order to ensure a fair and impartial adjudication of Vedanta’s applications/proposal for establishing the ‘Green Copper’ facility, the counsel urged the Bench to order the constiution of a court-monitored multidisciplinary expert committee, comprising representatives of the State government as well as the Centre, along with independent experts in relevant fields, to examine the proposal independently, comprehensively, and scientifically.

Until the disposal of its main writ petition, Vedanta also sought an interim direction to the TNPCB to permit the petitioner to have limited and conditional access to the Sterlite copper facility in Thoothukudi so that it could carry out preparatory and operational activities for the scientific assessment. The interim activities could also be supervised, monitored, and controlled by a court-appointed committee, it said.

On the other hand, opposing the writ petition filed by Vedanta, the AAG said: “They are trying to pour old wine into a new bottle and call it Green Copper.” He said, the company ought to have gone on statutory appeal against the board’s order instead of filing a writ petition. He also stated that protection of environment was more important than the economic aspects, which the company was stressing upon.

However, Mr. Parasaran said, only a committee comprising of experts from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Central Pollution Control Board, and such other bodies would be able to give independent thought to the proposal. “If the experts say that the industry should perish, let it perish. But if they say it can be revived, let it be revived. Let the TNPCB not approach the issue with a stone wall,” he added.

Vedanta’s affidavit

In its affidavit, Vedanta contended that the TNPCB’s rejection order does not reflect any genuine statutory evaluation of the ‘Green Copper’ proposal, but rests on a fundamentally “flawed” premise that past regulatory actions and earlier judicial proceedings foreclose even the consideration of a re-engineered and environmentally superior facility.

The company claimed that the TNPCB had failed to take note the critical national as well as global demand for copper, its status as a strategic resource, and the growing trend of resource nationalism. It said, the ‘Green Copper’ facility would help augment domestic copper production, while prioritising sustainability since the eco-friendly process would be distinct from previous copper-smelting processes.

Vedanta also pointed out that it had filed a writ petition in January this year seeking a direction to the State government to consider its ‘Green Copper’ proposal, which would utilise an environmentally superior process designed to be an exemplar of sustainable and responsible industry. While passing interim orders in that petition, the court had permitted the company to submit applications to statutory authorities.

Therefore, Vedanta had applied to the TNPCB for the issuance of a CTO on January 9 but it was rejected on January 27, forcing the group to file a fresh writ petition challenging the rejection order.

What is ‘Green Copper’?

Explaining the benefits of ‘Green Copper,’ the company told the court that the term refers to copper produced with a significantly lower carbon footprint in comparison with conventional smelting processes. The reduction would be achieved by maximising the use of recycled copper as input. “Using recycled copper minimises the need for copper concentrate processing, which was the primary source of slag generation in smelting operation,” it said.

Apart from the projected reduction of 15% in slag generation, approximately 40% of reducation was expected in hazardous waste generation, too. Through the utilisation of 30% recycled input, the proposed green copper plant was projected to achieve 34% reduction in carbon footprint because less fossil fuel would be consumed in the energy-intensive smelting and converting processes, Vedanta claimed.

“Furthermore, round-the-clock renewable energy will be utilised for hybrid operations. The suspension of the phosphoric acid plant and adoption of advanced air and water management technologies will further minimise environmental impact and enable the company to produce copper cathode with less than 0.9 kg of CO₂ emissions per kg of copper, i.e., about 50% less than the global average,” its affidavit read.

Published – February 11, 2026 01:09 pm IST