In a major relief to Tata Steel, the Supreme Court approved the prospecting licence for mining in about 2,500 hectares of Bailadila block in Chhattisgarh for its steel plant.
NEW DELHI: In a major relief to Tata Steel, the Supreme Court on Friday approved the prospecting licence for mining in about 2,500 hectares of Bailadila block in Chhattisgarh for its steel plant in the Naxalite-infested Dantewada district in the state.
The green bench headed by chief justice K G Balakrishanan, while granting approval for prospecting licence to Tata, said that the steel major should approach the director general, forest, for clearance.
The court’s nod comes after Tata Steel’s appeal against a Delhi High Court order in February, which quashed the Centre’s decision to grant a prospecting licence to Tata Steel for mining ore in the Bailadila reserve forest.
High court judge S Ravindra Bhat passed the order in the National Mineral Development Corporation’s (NMDC) petition seeking cancellation of the approval granted to Tata Steel on February 14 last year.
NMDC had claimed that its preferential right was overlooked by the Centre and all clearances were granted in violation of Forest Conservation Act.
Challenging the high court order, Tata’s counsel Fali S Nariman denied diversion of any forest land for any non-forest purpose.
Nariman argued that not all activities under Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 require the use of forest land and forest clearance was not required for reconnaissance or even for prospecting if the number of bore-holes do not exceed 10 per sq kms or the licensee doesn’t collect samples of the ores or the bore-holes were unto 4 inches in diameter.
Justice Bhat also reiterated that forest clearance must precede granting any permission for diverting forest land for non-forest purpose and he held that mining or prospecting for mines, is a non-forest purpose.
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