Clearing mining dues – a prerequisite for the grant or renewal of a quarrying lease for minor mineral: Hon’ble High Court of Kerala

 

In a landmark judgment, the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala reiterated that anyone seeking to obtain a quarrying lease in the State must clear all mining dues. In WP(C) No. 14524 of 2023, the petitioner approached the Court stating that they had already been granted a lease by the Director, but the Geologist is not executing the lease. The court observed that for the lease to be registered, the applicant must clear the dues of Rs. 35.86 Crores, which had been demanded from them by the Geologist for unauthorised extraction of mineral, citing rule 52(2) of the KMMC Rules, 2015, which reads:

51. Refusal for renewal of quarrying lease.—

(1) xxx

(2) In any case or class of cases where any amount is due to Government from any person/firm/ association/ company on account of mining of minor minerals from any land, no mineral concession under these rules shall be granted/ renewed in the said land to any person/ firm/ company/ association and no mineral concession under these Rules shall be granted/ renewed to such person/ firm/ company/ association in any land in the State unless all dues are cleared.

The Hon’ble Court observed that:

In view of the specific interdiction as per Rule 51 (2) of the Rules 2015, I am of the opinion that when there are dues to the Government on account of mining of minor mineral, even if a lease has been granted, the petitioner cannot contend that the respondents are bound to execute a lease agreement in favour of the petitioner until the dues are cleared.

      Download judgment of WP(C) No. 14524 of 2023