Team Herald
PANJIM: In a major setback to the State, the Bombay High Court at Goa has quashed the government’s plan to restart iron ore mining activities at three mineral blocks without obtaining fresh environment clearances (ECs).
The Court has directed the successful bidders to obtain fresh environment clearances.
They have directed to do so with regards to commencement of the mining operations at Advalpale-Tivim, Cudnem-Cormolem and Tivim-Pirna Mineral Blocks - put up for e-auction- possess no valid ECs post April 2018.
Fomento Resources has won a bid for Advalpale-Tivim Mineral Block while steel giant JSW won Cudnem-Cormolem Mineral block during e-auction. The e-auction of Tivim-Pirna Mineral block is going on. While inviting the tender for e-auction, the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) had stated that these three leases do not require fresh EC as the leases are categorised under Section 8 B of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act 1957 which speaks about transfer of statutory clearances vested with the previous lessee.
A total of 15 .29 million tonnes of iron ore reserve is available for extraction in these three mineral blocks. It also has around 7.37 lakh tonnes of rejects in the form of dumps.
Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Pvt Ltd had moved the High Court with regards to auction of Cudnem- Cormolem Mineral Block. The petitioners argued that Section 8B of the MMDR applies only to the valid ECs concerning the mining leases whose terms may have expired but not to ECs expressly cancelled by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) based on the judicial orders in Goa Foundation matters in April 2014 and February 2018. The petitioners argue that such specifically invalidated and cancelled ECs do not revive under Section 8B of MMDR.
The court was informed that the MoEF through an order dated April 23, 2018 cancelled the ECs granted to 88 mining leases and neither the mining lessees nor the State challenged the MoEF’s order, cancelling the ECs issued by the MoEF on August 22, 2007. Accordingly, the petitioners and Goa Foundation (Intervenor) contend that this order of cancellation of ECs has attained finality. They also argued that the amended/substituted Section 8B of the MMDR Act would not apply to ECs that were expressly cancelled.
“…we clarify that fresh ECs will have to be obtained even by the successful bidders to block -VII or other blocks to which the decisions of the Supreme Court in GF-I and GF-II apply or to mining blocks in respect of which the ECs were cancelled by the MoEF by order dated April 23, 2018,” Justice MS Sonak and Valmiki Menezes said in its judgment passed on Wednesday.
The court noted that the conscious decision of the Supreme Court in GF-I judgment which was reiterated in GF-II judgment, cannot be bypassed regarding the ECs which were explicitly cancelled by the MoEF order dated April 23, 2018 as valid only to grant new lessees/successful auction bidders the benefit of Section 8B of the MMDR Act, 1957.
The Division Bench observed that nothing in Section 8B of the MMDR Act, 1957 revives ECs that are already cancelled. Section 8B refers only to valid rights, approvals, clearances, licences, etc. Further, Section 8B provides that such valid clearances shall continue to be valid after the expiry or termination of the mining lease. The expression “continue to be valid” presupposes that EC was valid on the date of transfer and vesting.
“As noted earlier, the proper construction of Section 8B of the MMDR Act, 1957 indicates that only valid ECs were to stand transferred and vested in the new lessees/successful auction purchasers,” the Court said.
“If the State Government’s interpretation is to be accepted, then the ECs issued in 2007, based upon which the mining industry in the State of Goa virtually caused havoc by rapacious and rampant exploitation regardless of any concern for environment, health and well-being of the citizens, would have to be revived and transferred to the new lessees/successful bidders. The impact of rapacious and rampant exploitation, including several severe environmental violations by the mining industry between 2007 and 2012, would have to be ignored,” it said further.
“This, according to us, would not be a proper mode of construing provisions of Section 8B of the MMDR Act, 1957,” the Court noted.
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E-auction for Cudnem-Harvalem mining block called off due to technical glitch
PANJIM: The e-auction process for the Cudnem-Harvalem mining block in Bicholim taluka was called off following a technical snag on Wednesday thereby leaving the block unsold.
One of the leading firms bidding for the block, faced some technical issues after which the confusion was caused over the bidding process, which was later called off.
Earlier, Jindal Steel Works (JSW), one of India’s largest steel companies, ventured into Goa’s iron ore mining industry as it bagged Cudnem-Cormolem Mineral Block and was bidding for Cudnem-Harvalem Mineral Block during the e-auction process. Both the mineral blocks are located in Bicholim taluka and together has got around 18 million metric tonnes of ore.
JSW bagged the Cudnem-Cormolem mineral block with the highest premium of 96.6 per cent of the average sale price set by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM).
JSW has become the first steel company, and the first out-of-the-State group, to bag a mineral block in Goa.
The Cudnem-Cormolem mineral block was one amongst those which were categorised under Section 8B of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act 1957 which speaks about transfer of statutory clearances vested with the previous lessee. However, the same has been stuck down by the High Court directing the successful bidder to opt for fresh Environment Clearance (EC).
The mineral block has got around 9.77 million metric tonnes of ore and another 1.12 lakh tonnes of dump.
Both the mineral blocks were previously owned by Sociedad De Fomento Ind Pvt Ltd.