"Why Is The State Of Goa Backing Large Entities In Renewal Of Lease Without Following Due Process?' SC Dismisses Vedanta's Plea For Validating Its Mining Lease Till 2037

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told SG Tushar Mehta to advise the Goa government to follow competitive bidding in handing out mining leases to maximise revenue, instead of backing the renewal of leases of large private mining leaseholders whose "rapacious and rampant exploitation" of Goa's fragile ecology for profit has been deprecated by the Court.The bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud, Vikram Nath and Hima Kohli was hearing Vedanta's SLP against the November 2019 decision of the Bombay High Court dismissing its writ petition demanding a declaration that its mining lease, as per the provisions of the amended MMDR Act 2015, was valid for 50 years, until 2037. Another writ petition under Article 32 by another mining leaseholder, urging the same ground, was also listed before the bench. While the bench dismissed Vedanta's SLP, the bench allowed the withdrawal of the writ petition when Senior Advocate A. M. Singhvi, for the writ petitioner Geetabala M. N. Parulekar, wished to move the High Court instead."You will support them before the High Court also", said Justice Chandrachud to the SG, who appeared for the Goa government."I support the development of the state", replied the SG."Our judgment in Goa Foundation II left it open for you to hold competitive bidding. If the state follows the transparent procedure, it will ensure the best revenue and the best realisation in the interest of the state. If the state wants to maximise revenue, why is the due process of law not being followed? Why is the state backing these large entities in the renewal of their leases? The impression that is being given off is that the government wants the renewal of their leases. Please advise the government properly", observed Justice Chandrachud.It may be noted that the bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, in their February 7, 2018 judgment in Goa Foundation II, cancelled 88 mining leases, which were renewed by the government in Goa in 2015 to "benefit private mining leaseholders". The judgment had traced the "rapacious and rampant exploitation" of Goa's fragile ecology by private mining leaseholders, whose sole motive was to make profits, for years. The verdict had noted how these leases were hastily renewed by the state in 2014 with retrospective effect from 2007, just in the nick of time before an amended Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act made auction of leases mandatory to mine notified minerals like iron ore. In April 2014, in the Goa Foundation I case, the Court found that rampant mining was going on in the state despite all the iron ore and manganese ore leases having expired way back in November 2007. The Court ruled all mining activity post-2007 illegal in the state and required the same to stop immediately. It said that only fresh mining leases can be granted henceforth.Vedanta's SLPBefore the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Vedanta was represented by Senior Advocate Krishnan Venugopal.It was the case of the SLP petitioner that their leases were previously granted by the erstwhile Portuguese regime in Goa, as mining concessions, which came to be abolished and declared as mining leases in the year 1987 by virtue of the Goa, Daman And Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition And Declaration As Mining Leases) Act, 1987 (the "Abolition Act"). The Abolition Act, which came into force on 23.05.1987, granted deemed mining leases to inter alia the Petitioner, which would end on 22.11.1987 vide Sec. 5(1) of the Abolition Act. The Abolition Act thereafter provided for a renewal under the MMDR Act, which was to end on 22.11.2007, vide Sec. 5(2) of the Abolition Act. The Petitioner, having applied for and obtained the said renewal, got its first grant of a lease under the MMDR Act in 1987.Further, it was advanced that Section 8A(3) of the MMDR Act which has now been inserted, has, by means of a deeming fiction, provided that all leases, whenever granted, shall be deemed to have been granted for a period of 50 years. "It must follow as a matter of law that the deemed mining leases of the Petitioner No. 1 under the MMDR Act are deemed to be for 50 years, i.e. from 1987 to 2037", it was submitted.It was pointed out that the Ministry of Mines of the Union of India had, after the coming into force of the MMDR Amendment Act 2015, written to all States to amend the lease deeds in their respective States on the basis of Sec. 8A of MMDR Act, and that the Supreme Court has held in Common Cause v. Union of India (2016) 11 SCC 455 that the mere expiry of the period of renewal of a lease before the coming into force of Sec. 8A of the MMDR Act, will not disentitle the leaseholder to the benefits of Sec. 8A, including Secs. 8A (3) and (6) of the MMDR Act. It was submitted that the Petitioner had made a detailed representation to the State of Goa on 29.10.2019, on the basis of Sec. 8A of the MMDR Act, as interpreted in Common Cause (supra), but the same has been rejected by the State by the communication dated 19.11.2019, while...

"Why Is The State Of Goa Backing Large Entities In Renewal Of Lease Without Following Due Process?' SC Dismisses Vedanta's Plea For Validating Its Mining Lease Till 2037

Mehal Jain

"If the state wants to maximise revenue, why is the due process of law not being followed? Why is the state backing these large entities in the renewal of their leases?", the court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

Tags