NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Goa Government’s claim of its forest department’s right over 51 hectares of land given for mining in Sulcorna village of Quepem Taluka in South Goa district and deleted the names of Narayan Gaonkar and others from the occupant’s column in survey No 11/1.
The Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Navin Sinha settled the appeal dismissing the Goa bench’s judgment on 30.06.2011 and the civil judge’s order of 23.04.2001 in the dispute going on since 1995 on a suit filed by Narayan V Gaonkar, Shivram V Gaonkar and Rama S F Dessai.
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It agreed with the government’s claim of its right over all lands and not the property of any person, noting that all metals and metal-liferous minerals belong to the State and they cannot be prospected without licence or concession by the government.
The government also brought on record a mining lease granted by the state government on 09.03.1998 where the mining lease of the area was granted by it. The Court rejected the plaintiff’s plea that their forefathers were the owners of the suit property.
