Vedanta on Thursdaysaid it has received “quite a number of bids” for its SterliteCopper unit at Thoothukudiin Tamil Nadu and is in the process of evaluating them.

Vedanta has put on sale its Sterlite copper smelting plant which has been closed since 2018 following the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s order over environmental concerns.

Vedanta’s chief executive officer Sunil Duggal told PTI that the company had received “quite a number of bids” which are being evaluated and added that the “response has been quite good from the market”.Duggal refused to divulge the name of the companies which have shown interest in the plant, saying it is “a bit confidential and we are in the process of evaluation”.

The atmosphere, he said, is building up at the state level and more people want the plant to reopen. “Since this was more of a social issue and not an environmental issue related to the organisation, we may get favourable court orders,” he said.