1The appellant (hereinafter referred to as "the petitioner") impugned the order dated 14-7-1999 whereby its application for grant of prospecting licence for limestone in the areas in villages Kesavapalli, Alugupadu, Shankara - puram and Gokulapadu was rejected by the first respondent. The petitioner sought for the directions to the respondent to issue prospecting licence for mining lease.

2. The petitioner is a public limited company claiming to be in the field of manufacturing cement. In the year 1987 the petitioner had applied for prospecting licence in respect of limestone in the areas in Kesavapalli, Alugumallipadu, Sankarapuram and Gogulapadu villages of Guntur District. It proclaimed the potentiality of manufacturing cement to the tune of 1.1 million tonnes per annum. Prior to 1990 the Company became sick. It applied to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (hereinafter referred to as "BIFR") in the year 1990 for rehabilitation under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as "Act of 1985). The BIFR provided a rehabilitation scheme. Production was revived in December 1994 in terms of the rehabilitation scheme. Limes