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2025 Supreme(Online)(Kar) 28937
KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
N.V. ANJARIA, CJ, K.V. ARAVIND, J
M/S MINERA STEEL AND POWER PVT. LTD. – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KARNATAKA – Respondent
WRIT PETITION NO. 26018 OF 2024 (GM-MM-S)
For the Appellants/Petitioners: D.L.N. RAO, ANIRUDH ANAND
For the Respondents: SMT. NILOUFER AKBAR
The requirement for renewed Forest Clearance after a two-year period is obligatory for new lessees as stipulated in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and corresponding guidelines.
Headnote:(A) Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 - Section 2 - Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 - Sections 8A, 8B - Writ Petition challenging stoppage of mining operations - Petitioner, a successful bidder for a mining lease, was granted rights to continue operations for two years under the terms of the MMDR Act - The petitioner contended that the validity of Forest Clearance should extend beyond the stipulated period due to subsequent amendments - The court found that the requirement for fresh Forest Clearance after two years was clearly stipulated in the guidelines and the MMDR Act - The stoppage notice was upheld as valid due to non-compliance with this requirement. (Paras 1, 6, 7)
(B) Writ Jurisdiction - Scope - The High Court, while exercising writ jurisdiction, does not interfere unless there is a violation of legal provisions or principles of natural justice; here, statutory compliance was not met, justifying the dismissal of the writ petition. (Paras 4.2, 7)
CAV JUDGMENT
(PER: HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE N. V. ANJARIA)
The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Vijayanagar Division, Hospet, by communication dated 8th April 2024 conveyed to the petitioner that the petitioner was permitted to carry out mining in the forest land in question for maximum period of two years from the date of commencement of the new lease as per the guidelines dated 31st March 2020, or till Stage II Approval under the provisions of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is obtained or till the date the State Government or Government of India so decide, whichever is earlier, that the Lease Deed is executed on 18th April 2022 in favour of the petitioner, and since two years’ period has expired, the mining lease operations were required to be stopped.
1.1 The stoppage notice was indicative that the petitioner was required to obtain Forest Clearance in absence of which, it was not entitled to continue with mining activity.
2. It is the aforesaid decision which is sought to be challenged by the petitioner M/s. Minera Steel and Power Pvt. Ltd., by filing the present petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution. While the petitioner has prayed to set aside the stoppage notice dated 8th April 2024, a further prayer is advanced to direct the respondent authorities to expedite the process of transfer of the Forest Clearance and other applicable approvals in favour of the petitioner, which were possessed by the erstwhile lessee-mine holder-M/s. Auro Minerals.
2.1 From the aforementioned stoppage communication dated 8th April 2024, it could be seen that it dealt with the transfer of forest clearance from previous lessee to the present lessee-the petitioner. It had have the references namely (i) Letter-guidelines dated 31st March 2020 of the Assistant Inspector General of Forest, New Delhi; (ii) The mining lease executed on 18th April 2022, registered on 28th April 2022, by Director, Mines and Geology Department, Bengaluru; (iii) The Forest Lease Agreement signed on 18th August 2022; and (iv) Working permission letter dated 24th August 2022 from the office of the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Ballari Division, Ballari.
3. The case of the petitioner may be noticed. The mining block identified as Mining Lease (ML) No.2584 to the extent of 32.05 hectares of land in Kalahalli, NEB Range Forest, Hospet Taluka, Ballari District, Karnataka was with one M/s. Auro Minerals Iron Ore Mine on lease basis. The block was subjected to e-auction on 21st January 2022 by the respondent- mining authorities for grant of Iron Ore. The petitioner was declared as preferred bidder in accordance with Rule 9(9)(iii) of the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015. Letter of Intent was issued in favour of the petitioner on 8th February 2022.
3.1 The guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Forest Conservation Division) dated 31st March 2020. It inter alia provided that the validity of Forest Clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 shall extend in favour of new lessee for a period of two years in respect of auction blocks whose lease expired under Section 8A (5) and 8A(6) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as ‘MMDR Act’), subject to realization of lumpsum amount at the rate of Rs.7.50 lakhs per hectare for total forest area within the mining lease. The said guidelines also provided that if the approval letter under the Forest Conservation Act is not obtained within two years by the new lessee from the commencement of the new lease, the mining operations will be stopped unless such approval is obtained.
3.2 The petitioner stated that before the petitioner became successful bidder in the auction to acquire legal rights, Parliament enacted the Mineral Law (Amendment) Act, 2020 which came into effect from 10th January 2020. Before looking at the mandate Section 8B, the relevant part of sub-section (5) and sub-section (6) of Section 8A may be extracted. Secdt
