Team Herald
NEW DELHI: In a partial amendment of the ban on iron ore mining and transportation in Goa since March 16, 2018, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the mining firms to transport the validly mined ore on which they have paid royalty to the State government.
A 3-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde passed the order on a series of petitions filed by the mine owners against the mining ban imposed on a petition of NGO Goa Foundation. Justices Bhushan R Gavai and Surya Kant were the two other judges on the Bench that heard the petitions and reserved its order on January 16.
The petitioners included Chowgule, who was the first to move the Apex Court in 2018,VM Salgaocar, Agarwal Minerals, Minescape Minerals, Minescape & Kadar Ores, and N Habeeb (deceased). They were concerned over the extracted ore lying at the mine head and at various locations in Goa.
The court order enables them to sell the legally extracted ore on which they had paid the loyalty.
The mine owners’ petition challenging the ban imposed on all mining operations by the Apex Court is pending. The judgment
impacted the State’s iron ore mining industry and also affected many workers and contractors engaged by the industry. Other industries dependent on mining were also hit by the closure of the mining.
The Supreme Court held that the appellants/mining leaseholders would be permitted to transport the
royalty paid ore from the jetties, stockyard or pitheads on the basis of valid transit permits issued by the competent authority of the State government.
It granted them six months to complete the transportation, agreeing with senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the mine owners that the legislative policy is to grant six calendar months to remove ore mineral extracted from the termination of the lease under Minerals (Other than atomic and hydro carbons energy minerals) concession rules, 2016.
In its 28-page judgment, the Apex Court traced the history right from the first ban on mining in Goa in 2012 on the basis of the Shah Commission report and how then Environment and Forest Ministry had then kept in abeyance the environment clearance granted to 137 mines.
The Supreme Court referred to two orders passed by the same Bench had banned mining in Goa on 4.4.2018 and 11.5.2018, ruling that iron ore which is royalty paid and lying on the jetties on or before March 15, 2018 should be permitted to be loaded on the barges and on the vessels so that they can be transported to their destination.
On the Goa Foundation’s allegation that rampant mining took place between the order passed on February 7 and March 15, the Bench had then sought full details of the mining during the period and made it clear that no movement of iron ore will take place until further orders except the iron ore which has reached the jetties.
The Court quashed the order of the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court stopping transportation of the ore, noting that if the Court had intended to prohibit not only mining but also transportation from 16.3.2018, nothing precluded it from doing so. It said the words used were that the lessees are permitted to manage their affairs and are permitted to continue mining till 15.3.2018 and as such only prohibition after 15.3.2018 is for carrying out mining operations.
It also noted that the same bench which decided the Goa Foundation-II itself on two occasions permitted the minerals to be transported from the jetties and so no rationale in differentiating between the iron ore which is either at the jetties or at the stockyards or pitheads, if the same is mined prior to the date of the prohibition, i.e. 15.3.2018.
The Court also said that there is no doubt that the ownership of the ore is that of the party that raised the ore and the same permitted to be transported on payment of royalty. “We see no reason why the owners should not be allowed to transport their own ore.”
Setting aside the High Court’s order dated 4.5.2018, the Apex Court upheld the state government’s decision of 21.3.2018 to permit transportation of the iron ore which is mined prior to 15.3.2018 and on which the royalty is paid.
