SC asks Sterlite to pay Rs 100 crore for polluting environment

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, to pay Rs 100 crore as compensation for polluting environment through its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu but refused to direct its closure. A bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik said that the environment has been polluted for a long time due to the discharge from the plant of the multinational company and it has to pay compensation. The court said that the compensation "must act as deterrent" and the amount of compensation should be decided on the basis of financial strength of the company. It, however, refused to direct closure of the plant and set aside the Madras High Court's 2010 order on closing it down. Imposing the compensation on the company, the bench said, "Amount less than Rs 100 crore would not have the desired impact."