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2012 (1) ALD 537
High Court of Andhra Pradesh
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO
M/s Venkateswara Granites rep by its Proprietor R. Venkateswara Rao
Versus
The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Secretary & Others
WRIT PETITION NO.26721 OF 2011
Decided On : 10-10-2011
Andhra Pradesh Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1966 – Rule 12(5), 35-A – Writ Petition – Ratification of Premises –The petitioner herein is the lease holder of mineral quarries who acquired it from another company – Upon rectification it was found that the petitioner quarried the mineral in an area, which has fallen outside the originally leased out premises – This writ petition has been instituted, calling in question the validity of the order passed by the 1st respondent State Government in their memo, granting stay of operation of the orders passed by it earlier in memo, until further orders – Held, It will be appropriate to notice that Rule 12(5) of the Rules regulates the exercise of granting of quarry leases for granite useful for cutting and polishing – Rule 12(5)(a)(i) of the Rules requires the Director to grant a quarry lease boundaries for easy identification on the ground, duly signed by the Applicant and by a qualified surveyor. Therefore, now, there is need for the Government to examine the original Applications seeking quarry lease for Black Granite Mineral and as to whether the sketch drawn to a scale was enclosed thereto with boundaries of the applied area noted thereon or not – It is also required of the State Government to examine whether there was any error committed by the Department while drawing or preparing the sketch – Without these aspects being investigated and finalized, the petitioner cannot, legitimately, be allowed to quarry the mineral from a site, where from he was exploiting all through, particularly, after it was found to be far away from the leased out area – Any such action would amount to condoning an illegality – Hence, the balance of convenience does not lie in favour of the petitioner firm to be allowed to quarry the mineral from a site, which was not originally leased out to it – The State Government is only carrying out the directions of this Court issued in W.P. – The impugned order is only an interim order – Every judicial and quasi-judicial Tribunal, which has been entrusted with the power to enter upon and resolve a lis, has also power to grant an appropriate interim order – Such a power is implied – It is not needed to be conferred expressly by any Statute or a Rule – In the absence of a prohibition from granting any such interim orders, the order passed by the Government through the impugned order, cannot be faulted –Since, the petitioner firm appears to have invested considerable amount of money and established an industrial activity for quarrying the Black Granite Mineral employing 30 to 40 persons, the ends of justice require that the State Government should decide the issue as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order – Writ Petition Dismissed
1. This writ petition has been instituted by M/s. Venkateswara Granites, Hanumakonda, Warangal District, calling in question the validity of the orders passed by the 1st respondent State Government in their memo dated 12-09-2011, granting stay of operation of the orders passed by it earlier in memo dated 24-11-2008, until further orders.
2. The case of the petitioner firm is that a quarry lease for the Black Granite Mineral over an extent of 0.496 hectares of land in Survey No.225/120 of Erraballigudem Village, Nellikuduru Mandal, Warangal District, was originally granted in favour of M/s. Blaze Granites (P) Limited, on 12-10-1989, initially for a period of 5 years, which was, subsequently, renewed on 08-09-1995, for a further period of 15 years. Another quarry lease for Black Granite Mineral over an extent of 1.25 acres of land in Survey No.264/1 and Survey No.225/120 of Erraballigudem Village, Nellikuduru Mandal, Warangal District, was granted in favour of M/s. Blaze Granites (P) Limited for a period of 15 years on 15-06-1998. It is not in dispute that land situate in Survey No.264/1 is a private patta land, while land in Survey No.225/120 is government land. M/s. Blaze Granites (P) Limited has transferred the two quarry leases held by them in favour of the petitioner firm herein after obtaining prior approval of the Director of Mines & Geology, on 04-01-2005. Thereafter, the petitioner sought for a renewal of the lease, which was extended for a further period of 20 years and accordingly, the necessary agreement has been entered into by and between the petitioner firm herein and the Assistant Director, Mines & Geology, Warangal District, on 12-05-2010. Thus, the lease over land of an extent of 0.496 hectares in Survey No.225/120 is now extended up to January, 2030. So far as the second lease is concerned, it is valid, as of now, up to June 2013.
3. The 2nd respondent firm applied for grant of quarry lease in respect of two hectares of land in Survey No.225/1 on 26-02-2007. However, the survey number was corrected as Survey No.225/120 on 27-04-2007. The petitioner herein also submitted three separate Applications for quarrying Black Granite Mineral on 02-03-2007, 28-04-2007 and 25-04-2007 over one hectare of land each in Survey Nos. 225/120 and 264/1, 225/120 and 225/121 to 225/126 respectively. When the Application of the 2nd respondent filed on 26-02-2007 was not processed, it had filed W.P.No.27931 of 2007. That writ petition was disposed of on 01-04-2008 directing a joint inspection and survey to be conducted. The 2nd respondent also filed another W.P.No.23117 of 2008 seeking directions for disposing of its application. That writ petition was disposed of on 23-10-2008 giving directions to the respondents to dispose of the Application of the 2nd respondent.
4. At that stage, there is a grievance made by the villagers and the 2nd respondent alleging that the petitioner firm is carrying on quarrying operations over an area of land other than the area, which was granted to it, as per the sketch enclosed to the lease deed executed. That called for a joint inspection between the Revenue, Survey & Land Records and the Mines & Geology Departments. A report was drawn on 11-07-2008. Based on that survey findings, the Assistant Director, Mines & Geology, Warangal, filed a report before the Director, Mines & Geology, Hyderabad, on 06-08-2008. After examining this report, it appears that, the Director, Mines & Geology, Hyderabad, passed note orders in his file No.7044/R6-1/2008, dated 06-09-2008, directing the Zonal Joint Director, Mines & Geology, Hyderabad, for carrying out inspection of the disputed site and submission of a report. Accordingly, the Zonal Joint Director inspected the quarry site on 15-09-2008 and filed his report on 16-09-2011. This report of the Zonal Joint Director, filed with the Director, Mines & Geology, Hyderabad, has been placed at Page No.36 of the paper book filed in this writ petition. It will b
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