Fulfillment of conditions for obtaining a quarry lease and the government's obligation to make a written order granting the lease.

ORDER :

1. The issue raised in the present petition is likelihood of right of the petitioner to obtain quarry lease being jeopardized in the event of Government not making a written order for grant of quarry lease despite non-fulfillment by the petitioner of certain conditions mentioned in the Letter of Intent (LoI), particularly one relating to obtainment of Environment Clearance, on or before 24.05.2022 under the provisions the Gujarat Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2017.

2. The Government of Gujarat, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 15 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (67 of 1957) and in suppression of all the rules made in this behalf, framed the Gujarat Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2017. Rule 29 of the said Rules is relevant for adjudication of the issue involved in the present petition, and the same reads thus:

“29. Existing applications and right of holder of letter of intent.

(1) All applications for grant of a quarry lease received prior to the date of commencement of these rules shall become ineligible.

(2) Without prejudice to sub-rule (1), where the Government has communicated a prior written approval for grant of a quarry lease or if a letter of intent has been issued in writing by the Government to grant a quarry lease, before the commencement of these rules, the quarry lease shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of sub-rules (3) to (6) (inclusive).

(3) The Government shall issue an order in writing for grant of a quarry lease to the holder of a letter of intent upon satisfaction of the following conditions within a period of two years from the date of commencement of these rules, failing which the right of such an applicant for grant of a quarry lease shall be forfeited automatically and in such cases, the Government would not be required to issue any order for this purpose:

(a) fulfilment of the conditions of the prior approval or the letter of intent.

(b) the holder of letter of intent having obtained all consents, approvals, permits, no-objections and the like as may be required under applicable laws for commencement of mining operations.

(c) the holder of letter of intent having satisfied the conditions specified in Chapter VIII with respect to a mining plan (including the mine closure plan).

(d) furnishing financial assurance as specified in rule 64:

Provided that upon receipt of a written application, stating reasons for non fulfilment of the conditions within a period of two years, the Government may, for reasons recorded in writing, extend the period of two years by an additional period of not more than six months:

Provided further that, save for the right to receive a quarry lease pursuant to the prior approval or the letter of intent, these rules shall apply to quarry lease granted pursuant to the prior approval or the letter of intent.

(4) The order for grant of a quarry lease shall be in writing and shall inter-alia also specify that the person in whose favour the order has been issued shall be required to furnish a performance security in accordance with such order in the form of a bank guarantee as per the format specified in Form A or a non-interest bearing security deposit.

(5) A quarry lease deed shall be executed in the format specified in Form B by the Government within thirty days of the date of completion of the conditions specified in sub-rule (4) and shall be subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder.

(6) Any letters of intent granted pursuant to an auction process in the State shall continue to be governed by the tender documents relating to such auctions and a quarry lease deed shall be executed in the format specified in Form F by the Government within such period as specified in the grant order. The provisions of sub-rule (2) to (5) shall not apply to such letters of intent:

Provided that save for the right to receive a quarry lease pursuant to the letter of intent, these rules shall apply to quarry lease granted p