Team News Riveting
Raipur, September 24
A Chhattisgarh High Court order could come as a sigh of relief for the corporate combating to get the mining lease for the blocks after prospecting that have been caught in legal complication following the amendment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015.
The 2021 amendment to MMDR inserted proviso to Section 10A(2)(b) that pertained to the leases where prospecting licence (PL) were granted. The Section 10A(2)(c) relates to grant of mining leases (ML).
The amendment was aimed to pave the way for auctioning of 500-odd non-coal, non-fuel blocks across the country, which were allocated before the amended Act came into effect. Caught in legal issues, the blocks fall either under Section 10A (2)(b) – where prospecting licence (PL) were issued, but mining leases (MLs) were not granted; or under 10A(2)(c) – relating to pending grant of ML.
Under the provision of the amended Act, Chhattisgarh government issued Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for auctioning eight blocks in the state. Many corporate houses that included Neco Jaiswal and Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) contested and moved to the Chhattisgarh High Court.
The Court Tuesday passed an order in the Writ Petition filed by the JSPL. It posted the matter for hearing on October 6.
“On the said date, this Court shall hear petitioner’s prayer for the interim relief. However, in the meanwhile, it is observed that the proceeding for leasing out the subject mining area under the subject Notice Inviting Tender (N.I.T) shall remain subject to the final outcome of the writ petition,” a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Rajani Dubey said in the order.
The JSPL writ petition is related to an iron ore mine allotted to the company in Dantewada’s Kamalur village. The company executed the prospecting licence by putting huge investment as there were many challenges including influence of Maoists in the mine area. The company was waiting for the mining lease before the Chhattisgarh government put it out for auction after the 2021 amendment to MMDR.
Any company now willing to acquire the mine would have to take an auction or bidding route. For those who had already invested a huge amount on prospecting, it would not be a viable deal. Subsequently, many companies had moved to the Court of Law to challenge the decision.
The Chhattisgarh High Court, in the JSPL case, directed that no third-party rights could be created on the subject mine, putting mine auction in Chhattisgarh on hold.
