Pre. Haryana Act No. 48 of 1973

Received the assent of the President of India on the 16th December, 1973, and first published in Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) of December 20, 1973.

An Act to vest the mineral rights in the State Government and to provide for payment of amount to the owners of minerals and for other matters connected therewith.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Haryana in the Twenty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

S.1 Short title

This Act may be called the Haryana Minerals (Vesting of Rights) Act, 1973.

S.2 Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a) "Collector" means the Deputy Commissioner of a district and includes any officer appointed by the State Government to discharge all or any of the functions of a Collector under this Act;

(b) "minerals" mean minerals and minor minerals as defined in clauses (a) and (e) respectively of section 3 of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957;

(c) "land" means land whether assessed to land revenue or not and includes river beds and the sites of buildings and other structures;

(d) "person" shall include a local authority and a company or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not; and

(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.

S.3 Vesting of minerals in State Government

(1) The State Government may, from time to time, by notification, acquire the right to any minerals in any land and the right to the minerals specified in the notification shall, from the date of its publication, vest in the State Government.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, on the publication of the notification under sub-section (1), the right to the minerals in the land specified in the notification shall vest absolutely in the State Government and the State Government shall, subject to the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957, have all the powers necessary for the proper enjoyment or disposal of such right.

(3) The right to the minerals in the land includes the right of access to land for the purpose of prospecting and working mines and for the purposes subsidiary thereto including the sinking of pits and shafts, erection of plants and

S.4 Payment of amount

(1) On the vesting of the right to the minerals in any land under section 3, the person entitled to the right to the minerals immediately before such vesting shall be paid annually, in the manner prescribed, an amount equal to ten per cent of the annual contract money, or of royalty or dead rent whichever is higher, payable to the State Government on the minerals raised in a year, as the case may be, for a period of ten years with effect from such vesting :

Provided that if no contract or lease is given or the lessee does not raise the minerals for any period, no amount shall be paid for that period and the aforesaid period of ten years shall be deemed to have been extended by that period :

Provided further that the payment of the amount shall commence after the expiry of one year from the date of commencement of the period of contract or lease, as the case may be.

Explanation. - If the State Governmen

S.5 Reference to court

(1) Any person who is not satisfied by the order of the Collector under section 4 may, by written application to the Collector, require that the matter be referred by the Collector for the determination of a principal civil court of original jurisdiction, whether his objection be to the quantum of amount, the persons to whom it is payable, or the apportionment of the amount among the persons entitled.

(2) The application shall state the grounds on which the objections to the order of the Collector is taken :

Provided that every such application shall be made, -

(a) if the person making it was present or represented before the Collector at the time when he passed his order, within six weeks from the date of the Collector's order;

(b) in other cases, within six weeks from the date of communication of the Collector's order.

(3) In making the reference, the Colle

S.6 Code of Civil Procedure to apply to proceedings before Civil Court

The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, shall apply to all proceedings before the civil court under this Act.

S.7 Appeals in proceedings before Civil Courts

An appeal shall lie to the principal civil court of original jurisdiction where the matter is decided by a civil court subordinate to it and to the High Court in other cases.

S.8 Power to make rules.

The State Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.