Says dump handling within power of state government and not the Centre
TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: The affidavit filed in the Supreme Court by the state government justifies the action of the mine operators in stacking the overburden/rejects separately and outside the lease area and claims that it is in consonance with the relevant law and argues that dump handling is purely within the jurisdiction of the state government.
It argues that dumps were stacked outside legal mining lease area, because of this “limitation in areas and for the effective conservation of minerals,” it was imperative for leaseholders to stack there overburden and sub grade ore on purchased or leased land in and around the concession or lease area.
Stating that this had legal sanction as well, the affidavit claims that all mining plans submitted to the Indian Bureau of Mines as per the statute have details of use of such areas. These details have also been submitted to the state. “Even the benification plants along with desilting ponds had been set up and operational since 1960s and most of these facilities exist within and outside the concession/lease area,” it says.
“I state that the action of the mine operators in stacking the overburden /rejects separately and outside the lease area is in consonance with the law in as much as Rule 16 of the mineral Conservation and Development Rules specifically requires that …” such ore shall be “dumped and stacked separately from the overburden and waste material.”
Claiming that the stacks were created are such stacks of rejects, the affidavit states that Rule 64 states that transportation of the overburden from the lease site to another site for dumping is permitted and that the provision is intended to facilitate such movement by allowing for no duty to be chargeable on such movement.
“It would therefore, be unfair to say that those dumping overburden in land owned by them are committing an illegality,” the affidavit argues.
The affidavit says that mine owners in accordance with the mandate of the law have maintained separate stacks of rejects/tailings and a majority of which are outside the lease areas.
The affidavit also seeks to deny that the Centre has any power to order or revise any order passed by the state government under the rules; so dump handling ‘squarely’ falls within the power of the state government and not in the central government including issuing any instructions concerning the way or manner in which such dumps should be handled or dealing with the pre-requisite s/conditions for handling such dumps.
And that these areas where the said material is maintained “though belonging to the respective mine owners ” has been alleged to be “an encroachment in the report.”
Finally the affidavit argues that in land utilisation for mining related activity in
