IMPORTANT POINT
Excavation of earth for development and levelling of the same land does not require additional permission or royalty payment.

JUDGMENT :

(Somasekhar Sundaresan, J.) :

1. Rule. By consent, Rule made returnable forthwith, and taken up for final hearing and disposal.

Factual Matrix:

2. The challenge in this Writ Petition is to an order dated 29th June, 2023 (“Impugned Order”) passed by Respondent No. 2 viz. the Tehsildar, Haveli (Pune), directing the Petitioner viz. AIGP Developers (Pune) Pvt. Ltd. to pay an aggregate sum of Rs. 13,45,86,252/- (Rs. 2,45,14,800/- towards royalty and Rs. 11,00,71,452/- towards monetary penalty) for allegedly excavating minor minerals (ordinary earth) without due authorisation. The Impugned Order is passed under Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (“MLRC”).

3. The Petitioner is entitled to various land parcels being Survey Nos.1344/3 and 1344/4 at Wagholi (approximately 0.89 hectares and 5.69 hectares respectively); and Survey No.63/1/6 at Kharadi (approximately 0.11 hectares), totally admeasuring approximately 6.69 hectares. The Petitioner envisaged setting up an information technology and information technology-enabled services park consisting of four buildings, with a total construction of 30,00,000 Sq.Ft. of net leasable area. All the excavation of earth that is the subject matter of these proceedings, relates only to the land at Wagholi (“Subject Land”).

4. In 2018, the Petitioner was accorded permissions for development of land and construction of buildings at Wagholi, by the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (“PMRDA”) under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (“MRTP Act”). The Petitioner proposed to avail of fiscal benefits that would become available to a sector-specific special economic zone (“SEZ”), and applied to the Government of India, for being notified as such. On 8th February, 2019, the Petitioner was granted a Letter of Approval under Section 10(3) of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (“SEZ Act”). The land came to be notified on 18th March, 2019 as an SEZ under Section 4 of the SEZ Act.

5. The Petitioner developed the Subject Land and started construction of the buildings. At the time of filing the Writ Petition, the constructed buildings represented approximately 15,00,000 Sq.Ft. of leasable area with the requisite Occupation Certificates too being received for two buildings constructed on the developed Subject Land.

6. It is common ground that in the course of such development and construction, the Petitioner excavated a total quantity of 80,858 brass[A “brass” is a unit of measure for volume of mineral excavated – essentially, 100 cubic feet constitutes 1 “brass”.] of soil, of which, 40,000 brass is said to have turned out to be boulders and black cotton soil, which were unfit for redeployment in the development of the Subject Land. The Petitioner would submit that the 40,000 brass of such excavated earth, had to be removed and transported away from the site. Towards this end, the Petitioner applied for permission from time to time, and received four different quarry permits under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (“Mining Act”) read with the Maharashtra Minor Minerals Extraction (Development and Regulation) Rules 2013 (“Extraction Rules”), upon payment of the applicable royalty for extraction and removal from site. Such permissions received by the Petitioner, the quantum of soil removed, and royalty paid therefor, may be summarized thus:

7. The balance 40,858 brass of earth excavated was used for back-filling and levelling of the very same land. According to the Petitioner, when the earth so excavated is used for development and levelling of t