The Supreme Court on Monday, October 5, directed that no coercive action be taken against Tata Chemicals over alleged environmental damage to a marine sanctuary in Gujarat. The order came on the company's challenge to a Gujarat High Court ruling that held it liable for damaging the Gulf of Kutch Marine Sanctuary.
On May 25, the High Court had dismissed a petition Tata Chemicals filed in 2006 against a District Collector's order. The company had sought recognition of its pre-existing right to discharge industrial wastewater through the intertidal zone near its Mithapur plant in Devbhumi Dwarka district, across an area of about 200 hectares.
However, Gujarat HC rejected the company's claim over legacy open wastewater channels established before 1987. It described the company as an encroacher on government land within the sanctuary. It also said the company had a continuing duty to pay compensation until the damage is reversed.
The court directed the Gujarat Pollution Control Board to appoint experts to assess the damage. The board was directed to determine remediation measures and the compensation payable, with the assessment expected within three months. It said the financial implications could not yet be quantified and would depend on the GPCB's assessment, adding that current operations were unaffected, as the legacy channels are no longer in use and have been replaced by a closed deep-sea discharge pipeline that it says complies with all regulatory requirements.
The Gulf of Kutch is India's first Marine National Park, home to 42 islands, coral reefs, mangroves and mudflats. It is protected under the Wildlife Act, 1972. The Mithapur plant, which began operations in 1939, makes soda ash, salt, cement, sodium bicarbonate, bromine and caustic soda.
Shares of Tata Chemicals were trading 2.16% higher at ₹620.90 on the NSE on October 5. The stock has declined about 18% so far this year and more than 33% over the last 12 months.