The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has denied giving the 'Consent to Operate' (CTO) for Vedanta Limited’s proposed 'Green Copper' plant at the non-working Sterlite premises in Thoothukudi. Vedanta approached the Madras High Court to challenge the rejection. On February 11, Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan asked Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran to report by February 26 about forming an expert committee to study whether the plant can be allowed. Vedanta applied for CTO on January 9, but TNPCB rejected the request on January 27 without prior notice or a hearing. Senior counsel Satish Parasaran called the rejection “arbitrary” and asked the court to form a multidisciplinary expert committee—including central and state experts—to examine the proposal scientifically and fairly. Vedanta also sought limited access to the Sterlite facility to prepare for the assessment under court supervision. The state’s Additional Advocate General opposed, saying Vedanta was just repackaging old plans and should have appealed properly instead of going to court. “Protection of environment is more important than the economic aspects,” he said. Parasaran insisted that only expert review could fairly decide the proposal’s future. Vedanta’s affidavit argued that the TNPCB ignored new environmental technology and global copper demand. The company promised a cleaner process using 30% recycled copper, cutting carbon footprint by 34% and reducing hazardous waste by 40%. It claimed the new plant would use renewable energy and advanced pollution controls to produce copper with half the global average CO2 emissions. The court had earlier allowed Vedanta to submit applications to authorities while considering their writ petition. The fresh petition challenges the recent rejection order. The verdict on the expert committee is due at the end of February.