Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, has received the nod from India's National Green Tribunal (NGT), for its smelter plant in Tuticorin district of Tami Nadu.

Earlier, NGT had given its nod to the company to resume work on a temporary basis under the watch of a committee to check on the plant and its anti-pollution equipment.

However, NGT has given a final nod to the unit, subject to recommendations and suggestions given by the expert committee appointed by the tribunal and those will be binding upon the company. This committee will also devise around 20 rules which will have to be followed by the non-ferrous metal manufacturer.

Sterlite Industries is setting up a copper smelter with a capacity of four lakh tpa along with a 160 MW captive power plant in Tuticorin. The project, estimated to cost Rs 2,300 crore, was shut down on environmental review. The company has invested Rs 500 crore in addressing pollution-related issues. But anti-pollution protests of residents of the district forced the plant to shut down many times.

To allay these fears, the Tribunal had asked to set up committees which would conduct inspections at this plant. The Tribunal also directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to take due notice of the report submitted by the Special Expert Committee, dated July 10, 2013, while dealing with the company's application for renewal of licence.

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