Uttarakhand high court stays new mining rules, issues notice to state govt

A petition in the high court challenged the new mining rules, saying it provided for allotment of mining leases by recommendatory procedure rather than competitive bidding in disregard of the State Mining Policy of 2017.

Published on: Jan 7, 2022, 23:44:47 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

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DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand high court has stayed the new mining rules (Uttarakhand Minor-Minerals (Concession) (Amendment) Rules, 2021) notified by the state government on October 28 last year.

The petitioner, challenging the new mining rules in the Uttarakhand high court, said it is an attempt to indulgingly convert state mining policy of competitive bidding into a mutual consent cum recommendation (Representational Image)

The court has also issued notices to state government, director geology and mining unit (under industries department), district mining officer Nainital and sub-divisional magistrate Nainital. The respondents have been directed to reply to the notices within four weeks.

The division bench of acting chief justice SK Mishra and Justice Alok Kumar Verma gave these directions on Thursday while hearing a petition filed by Nainital-based Satyendra Kumar Tomar in December last year.

The petitioner said: “The notification is an attempt to indulgingly convert state mining policy of competitive bidding into a mutual consent cum recommendation.”

According to the petition, the notification was violative of Article 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India, as it provides for allotment of mining leases by way of recommendatory procedure rather than by way of competitive bidding in total disregard of the State Mining Policy of 2017.

“Despite issuance of another office on November 10, 2021 by the state government, which provides for a proper competitive e-tender/e-bidding even on affected abadi (residential) and agricultural land, mining interests purely on the basis of recommendations are still being handed out arbitrarily to vested interests on private lands”, the petition added.

Suhaas Ratna Joshi, counsel of the petitioner said according to the new rules, “for the purpose of development of land in the hills and plains of Uttarakhand, the ordinary soil that comes out, when the hill are cut, basement is excavated or the levelling of the land is done, can be transferred to the plot of the same private land or to any other plot, then it will not come under the category of mining. And thus, there will be no obligation of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) in respect of the above category. If the ordinary soil is transported from the plot of private land to any other place for commercial use, then the said person will have to pay the royalty at the rates specified for the time being as mentioned in the First Schedule of the Rules”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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