JUDGMENT :

On an application preferred by the petitioner, the second respondent has issued Ext.P2 No Objection Certificate to the petitioner on 07.01.2014 for extracting granite building stones from a Government land measuring 4.39.80 Hectors in V-Kottayam Village. Ext.P2 No Objection Certificate was issued for a period of ten years from the date on which the petitioner obtains quarrying lease for the said purpose under the Kerala Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1967 (the Rules). On the basis of Ext.P2 No Objection Certificate, the petitioner applied for grant of quarrying lease. On the said application, the petitioner was issued Ext.P3 letter of intent, directing them to produce the various licences and permissions obtained by them for the purpose of conducting quarrying operations, including a certificate from the second respondent to the effect that Ext.P2 No Objection Certificate still holds good. Pursuant to Ext.P3, the petitioner applied for such a certificate to the second respondent. The request made by the petitioner in this regard has been turned down by the second respondent in terms of Ext.P5 communication. Ext.P5 communication is under challenge in the writ petition.

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