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Decide mining cases permitted on status quo orders in 6 mths: SC to Orissa HC
The Supreme Court bench told the mining company that it could not have continued mining operations without forest clearance since 2016 on the basis of a high court status quo order
NEW DELHI: Mining companies cannot continue to excavate ore without obtaining forest clearance, the Supreme Court told a private miner in Odisha, observing that it was wrong to have used a status quo order granted by the high court in 2016 to continue chrome mining for six years.
The company approached the top court after the Orissa high court on May 20 declined to extend the status quo any longer and the mining company was barred by the state government from removing the excavated ore from its mine. The court noted that the company, M/s Balasore Alloys Limited, had continued its mining operations for six years and underlined that this was wrong.
“Under the guise of status quo order, you cannot continue mining without obtaining forest clearance. It cannot be done,” the bench of justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose said.
The bench also expressed its displeasure at the high court allowing mining operations for six years and stressed that its recent decision not to extend the status quo order was correct.
“It is unfortunate that high courts are passing such orders of status quo and permitting mining work to continue,” the bench said, asking the high court to decide within six months all pending matters where the order of status quo has been continuing for a long time and the mining activities were continuing under such an order.
It also refused to grant any relaxation to M/s Balasore Alloys Limited with respect to the chrome ore already excavated.
“Anything which has been excavated without the forest clearance is illegal. You cannot be permitted to excavate without obtaining forest clearance. The high court has been right in not extending the status quo,” said the bench, foreclosing any chances of relief to the company.
Appearing for the company, lawyer Anusha Nagarajan told the court that the status quo order was passed by the high court in 2016 and the company continued to mine on the ground that it has applied for forest clearance. The bench said, “It is not in dispute that the petitioner is not having forest clearance. Merely because the application for forest clearance is pending cannot be treated as having obtained forest clearance and carry on with excavation for mining activity.”
The company approached the top court against an interim order passed by the high court on May 20 when it refused to extend the status quo further and posted the petition filed by the company next month. Nagarajan informed the court that immediately the company was required to remove the extracted ore as the state authorities were not permitting the same due to the status quo order not being in place.
Nagarajan sought permission from the Court to withdraw the petition as she pointed out that the case has a long history and all facts were required to be brought before the court before any order is to be passed.
The Supreme Court permitted the company to withdraw the appeal and directed the registry to convey this order to the Chief Justice of the Orissa high court for necessary action.
